Kane Williamson has failed to score more than 15 in any of his five IPL innings in 2019. Photo / AP
Williamson was retained as captain by the Sunrisers despite the return of former skipper David Warner. However, the Black Caps skipper has struggled for game time due to injury and form, while he missed a recent encounter to fly back to New Zealand after the death of his grandmother. He's played in just five of the side's 11 matches and failed to get past 15 in all five innings. The Sunrisers are in the playoff hunt thanks largely to the form of fellow imports Warner (611 runs from 11 innings) and Englishman Jonny Bairstow (445 from 10 innings), who are the two highest run-scorers in the competition.
With Warner and Bairstow going so well at the top of the order, there's been no room for the Black Caps opener, who would have surely been hoping for more opportunities to build on the promising end to his international summer, having struck back-to-back centuries in the one-day series against Bangladesh.
With five matches, Ferguson is the equal 'most capped Black Cap at the 2019 IPL'. The fast bowler played in the opening four games for Kolkata but has been used just once in their last six, with England's Harry Gurney getting the nod ahead of him. That is due to Ferguson not providing the wicket-taking spark he has shown at the international level, having claimed just two scalps. While he hasn't been outrageously expensive in any game, he hasn't had any great performances either, conceding between 32 and 42 runs in his five outings.
Colin Munro (Delhi Capitals)
Colin Munro scored well in his first game but was dropped after a poor second. Photo / Faheem Hussain
Munro played in consecutive wins earlier this month, his only two appearances of Delhi's 11 games so far. Batting at three, he made 40 from 24 balls in a win over the Sunrisers before making just three in his only other innings — a defeat to Mumbai. Despite his Twenty20 international prowess, Munro was dropped for West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford in the starting XI in recent games.
The all-rounder played the first three matches of the season, including a team-high 37 in a losing score, but hasn't appeared at all this month. Aussie Marcus Stoinis, a similar player in role and skill set, has been favoured over him.
Perhaps the most surprising of all the Black Caps snubs, Boult played in 14 games last year, taking 18 wickets. This time, with Delhi's South African seamer Kagiso Rabada being the competition's standout seamer and the squad getting strong performances from South African all-rounder Chris Morris and 18-year-old Nepalese spin sensation Sandeep Lamichhane, Boult has hardly been required and didn't fare well in the one opportunity he received.
A late call-up into the Chennai squad after a rash of injuries, Kuggeleijn played a key role in one victory, taking two scalps on his debut. His next appearance was solid, going for 34 runs in four overs as part of another dominant victory, but with Chennai largely using their overseas spots on batsmen, opportunities have been limited.
Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings)
Mitchell Santner is the best-performed of the Kiwis in India. Photo / Faheem Hussain
Probably the only New Zealand player with a signature moment in the IPL so far, Santner smashed a six off the final ball of the game to drag Chennai to victory over the Rajasthan Royals last fortnight. Given another opportunity on Saturday morning, he shone with 2-13 in four overs, before hitting 22 off 20 balls, and should earn further chances in coming games.
With English duo Jorfa Archer and Ben Stokes preferred as overseas bowling options, Sodhi has been given only one game for the Rajasthan Royals. While he claimed a wicket, he was swatted for three sixes as he went for 41 runs in a loss to Kings XI Punjab and hasn't been seen since.
Like teammate de Grandhomme, Southee has seen action in only three games so far, and has yet to impress. In his first outing, he was clobbered for 61 runs as Andre Russell took him apart at the death, before taking 1-24 in two overs in his next game, also a loss. He returned last week, only to leak 33 runs in three overs — this time, however, in a winning effort.
The only New Zealander playing in the IPL who isn't an international regular, McClenaghan took more wickets in one game than any other Kiwi has done in the entire competition to date. His 3-40 in his opening game was followed by two less successful spells, but he hasn't played since March, with Lasith Malinga and Jason Behrendorff returning from international duties and taking the bulk of the overseas bowling workload.
