IPL 2018: Big-money players who are likely to miss out on a starting spot 

The Indian Premier League 2018 season will feature 8 teams and 162 players. Like the previous editions, the motto as inscribed on the trophy is "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi", or simply where talent meets opportunity.

However, with each team boasting a squad in excess of 20 (Kolkata Knight Riders being the exception with 19) it is impossible for all the players to be accommodated into the starting 11.

Several big names have failed to fit into the starting 11s on several occasions in the previous editions and the same could happen this season. Every year there are debates about whether much of the foreign talent will go to waste as a result of the overseas cap of 4 players in the starting 11.

With almost 8 overseas players in every team, some will have to make do with warming the benches. Here we run through a list of big-money signings who may miss out on a spot in their respective teams' starting line-up:

Jos Buttler/D'Arcy Short

In the Rajasthan set-up, Captain Steve Smith and the English all-rounder Ben Stokes are sure starters. With Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat the only frontline Indian pacers, the team needs someone that can breathe fire with the ball. Enter 7.2 crore Jofra Archer. At just 22, Jofra is rapidly becoming the most exciting all-rounder in the limited overs format. It should come as no surprise that teams bid ferociously for the bowler who bowls north of 90 mph.

What Archer's presence also means is that just one of Jos Buttler, arguably England's best limited-overs player, and D'Arcy Short can make it to the starting 11. Just like how the Rajasthan team went from being a 'Moneyball' side to making 2 of the most expensive picks of the auction, Short has gone from being relatively unknown to the name on everyone's lips.

Having shelled out INR 4 crore for the Australian, Rajasthan will likely use Short at the top which means Sanju Samson will don the gloves. This would mean that Tripura sensation Rahul Tripathi who made 391 runs at a strike rate of 147 last season, would miss out on the opening spot along with the devastating Jos Buttler. Should Buttler play, he would force Rahul into the 11 as well. But can Rajasthan afford to leave out D'Arcy and his hefty price tag?

Deepak Hooda/Yusuf Pathan

Will Hooda make it into the 11 ahead of his Baroda teammate?

Sunrisers Hyderabad went on a shopping spree and ended up with 8 fast bowlers and 1 fast-bowling all-rounder. In Rashid Khan, they have a wrist-spinner. Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammed Nabi provide the other spin bowling options in the side. Only one of the two all-rounders will make it into the 11 alongside Captain Warner, Williamson and Rashid Khan. This would mean that Carlos Brathwaite misses out. Moreover, Dhawan, Warner, Williamson, Pandey and Saha form the top 5, with none of them offering any bowling options.

All-rounders are game changers. Having just one all-rounder in the squad does not give the Sunrisers the balance they are looking for. With the top 5 and Shakib or Nabi, only one of Yusuf Pathan or Deepak Hooda can be accommodated. Yusuf is known to win matches single-handedly while Deepak is an all-rounder in the making who has served the Sunrisers well on previous occasions. It remains to be seen who will make the cut.

Trent Boult/Kagiso Rabada

Will Boult be the first choice?

Delhi Daredevils, aside from the young Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, managed to keep the services of the 22-year-old prodigal son from South Africa - Christopher Morris.

in the batting scheme of things, they roped in Prithvi Shaw, Captain Gautam Gambhir and keeper Naman Ojha. However, a top 5 of Gambhir, Shaw, Iyer, Pant and Maxwell seems far too fragile. This is where Jason Roy and Colin Munro could give the side a boost. Morris, Maxwell and one of the two openers mentioned above will surely start.

The bowling department, spearheaded by Morris and Mohammed Shami, who has been cleared to play, will also have the stalwart Amit Mishra and INR 3 crore wrist-spinner Rahul Tewatia. This leaves room for just one of Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult, who, along with Mitchell Starc, are the best overseas bowlers on show. Or will the Daredevils opt to go with both and sacrifice one of the two hard-hitting overseas openers? Only time will tell.

Mujeeb Zadran/Chris Gayle/Aaron Finch

Could the 16-year-old Mujeeb cost both the Melbourne Renegades openers their starting spot?

Prior to the auction, Kings XI Punjab surprised us all by retaining just one player - India all-rounder Axar Patel. In the auction, they sprang yet another surprise by splashing the cash. In the process, they bought Karnataka batsmen KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Mayank Agarwal, overseas openers Aaron Finch and Chris Gayle, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye and 16-year-old sensation Mujeeb Zadran.

They also used their right-to-match cards on Marcus Stoinis, David Miller and Mohit Sharma.

With Ashwin announced as the captain and Axar the only retention prior to the auction, Kings 11 have 2 spinners on a seam-friendly track at Indore where they are to play this year. With Tye, Stoinis and Miller being their lone specialist overseas T20 pacer, fast bowling all-rounder and finisher in the team respectively, there is just one overseas spot up for grabs.

Mayank Agarwal is in the form of his life and Rahul would walk into any IPL 11. If the team chooses to open with the two former RCB batsmen, the other spot would surely go to mystery spinner Zadran.

However, 12 overs of spin seems far too many for the track at Indore. This means Kings 11 could either sacrifice Agarwal for one of Finch or Gayle, or start with Agarwal and use Rahul or Finch in the middle order. In any case, two of Finch, Gayle and Zadran are sure to miss out.

Brendon McCullum/Quinton de Kock

Will we see a new opening combination at RCB?

In AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim Southee, Royal Challengers Bangalore have one of the strongest overseas contingent on show.

De Villiers, by virtue of being the best batsman in the modern era, undoubtedly earns a spot in the side. The aggressive manner in which RCB bid for Chris Woakes all the way up till INR 7.4 crore would suggest that he would be a regular starter.

Although the spin bowling department looks strong with Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, their Achilles' heel seems to be their bowling department. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj are known to be wayward and can go for plenty. Recognizing the need for team balance, Kohli would surely draft one of Southee and Coulter-Nile into the 11.

This leaves just one overseas slot which would be filled by an opener in Brendon McCullum, the one who made a record 158 not out at their home ground, or by wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock.

Virat may also choose to open with Parthiv Patel and accommodate yet another all-rounder in de Grandhomme or Moeen Ali, thereby sacrificing both de Kock and Baz.

Plenty of permutations and combinations, but whatever be the case, several stars will be made to warm the bench at Chinnaswamy.