5 IPL players who may be in danger of release

With one match left to go in IPL 2019, we look at five players who could be released by their respective franchises ahead of the next season.

1. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh's IPL career appeared over until MI decided to dish out Rs. 1 crore in the second round of last year's auction. The proven match-winner joined Rohit Sharma's team with huge promise and hype. However, he failed to live up to expectations and bolster the Mumbai middle order. With just 98 runs in four games that included a lacklustre half-century, the southpaw looked like a pale shadow of himself.

In order to quicken the scoring rate in the middle overs, MI then opted to play Ishan Kishan and later Evin Lewis. They then seemed to realise that they bat deep enough without the extra batsman, thanks to their all-rounders. Yuvraj seems to be out of the scheme of things for the management and age is not on his side, so we might have seen the last of him in the IPL.

2. Dhawal Kulkarni

Rajasthan Royals missed out on the fourth play-off spot by one point. They squandered many critical moments and failed to hold their nerve in tense situations. They dropped points in quite a few matches due to poor execution of plans at the death. Despite the hard work in the middle overs, their pace attack leaked runs in the closing stages. One guilty party was Dhawal Kulkarni, who struggled to do the job in the powerplay as well as in the death. He picked up just six wickets at a dreadful average of 55.83.

A potential swing bowler, Kulkarni struggled to get wickets in the first six overs. His hefty economy of 9.57 meant that he couldn't help his team during the slog either, especially while defending a total.

3. Hardus Viljoen

Hardus Viljoen's debut IPL season is one to forget due to his horrendous death bowling. In a crunch, must-win encounter against RCB, he conceded a whopping 51 runs in his four overs, which included a last-over hammering from Marcus Stoinis. As a result, RCB crossed the 200-run mark and Kings XI fell short by 17 runs. Widely regarded as a bowler who hits the deck hard, extracts bounce and launches yorkers with aplomb, Viljoen couldn't quite deliver on the faith shown in him.

He took seven wickets in six games, with half being consolation scalps. With the bat, he was a bystander. With the likes of Andrew Tye, Sam Curran and a host of quality Indian pacers in the KXIP camp, the management may decide to offload him.

4. Yusuf Pathan

SRH started the season on a high, courtesy of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow's sublime form. However, their weak middle order was exposed once the duo departed and more responsibility fell on the likes of Vijay Shankar and Yusuf Pathan. The latter, in fact, endured his worst-ever season in the IPL as this was the first time his otherwise intimidating strike rate fell below 100. Yusuf also has a paltry average of 13.33 in 10 matches.

To make matters worse, his fielding was marked by dropped catches and substandard ground coverage. Pathan has looked shaky and uncomfortable throughout the season, and not once did he take charge of the innings or be a finisher. At 36, a rusty Yusuf Pathan may have played his final game for the Sunrisers.

5. Mohammed Siraj

Another season, another play-off missed for RCB. Virat Kohli sulked as he watched his bowlers and fielders let the team down consistently. Time and again, the batsmen put in the work but the bowling attack shattered the team's hopes. Mohammed Siraj was one culprit who proved to be a target for every opposition. His economy of 9.55 speaks little of the occasions when he shipped runs at vital stages. To add to the misery, the youngster added just seven wickets in nine matches to his tally.

Siraj missed his length more often than not, couldn't bowl a consistent line and simply didn't apply himself while bowling to particular batsmen. Towards the end of the season, RCB found a better option in the left-arm pace of Kulwant Khejroliya. And with the likes of Dale Steyn set to return next season to operate alongside Umesh Yadav, Siraj could find himself on the release list.