Follow UsNew Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips’s wait for featuring in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game continued this year after Gujarat Titans (GT) decided to not him in the playing 11 despite featuring just two overseas players against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru.
On the day, against RCB, GT had a great chance to use the all-round skills of Phillips — especially his batting — but decided to play both Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia in the lower middle-order where Phillips could have been slotted in.
Phillips, who has featured in only eight IPL games so far despite being picked in the auction consistently in the last few years, last stepped on the field during the competition way back in 2023 when he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Mumbai Indians.
It must be quite frustrating for the Kiwi all-rounder to see himself warm the bench so regularly despite being one of the leading cricketers in the world. In fact, many have argued that Phillips’ fielding alone was good enough to give him a slot in GT’s playing XI, but coach Ashish Nehra and skipper Shubman Gill thought otherwise.
Phillips’ utility in the field was there for everyone to see during the Champions Trophy where he contributed in all the three aspects of the game for the New Zealand, with his superhuman-like catching going viral on the internet.
Notably, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will begin a few days in Pakistan during the IPL window itself, and Phillips would have probably been one of the top picks for the sides in that league had he not been in the IPL.