Tables have turned upside down in the World Cup 2019, quite literally. Before the tournament began, not many would have expected South Africa to come up with such a dismal performance. The fans also backed Windies to finish much higher on the points table than they actually did. It was anticipated that Afghanistan will give a tough time to some of the big teams.
However, none of this has turned into reality which in a way was disappointing. Talking about disappointment, the performance of some of the players was not up to the mark either. Their teams might have been in a much better position had these cricketers stepped up and brought out better performances. Thus, they are picked in the Flop XI of the league stage of the tournament.
Here is the Flop XI of players from the league stage of the World Cup
1. Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman had a disastrous tournament. He was nowhere near his best except for the fifty that he scored in the game against India. Fakhar bagged two ducks in the tournament and only averaged 23.25. Since he wasn’t able to provide his team with good starts on a consistent basis, the middle order was exposed early which is one of the many reasons why Pakistan couldn’t make it into the semi-final.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 8
Runs: 186
Average: 23.25
S/R: 81.93
2. Martin Guptill | New Zealand
Martin Guptill started off the tournament on a good note. He scored an unbeaten fifty against Sri Lanka at an extremely good pace. However, as the World Cup 2019 progressed along, he seemed to have lost his touch completely. The Kiwi opener had a horrid time in the middle and even bagged two ducks. Such performance was hardly expected from him and hence he finds a place in this eleven. New Zealand will badly need him to do well in the knockouts.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 8
Runs: 166
Average: 23.71
S/R: 87.83
3. Kusal Mendis | Sri Lanka
It doesn’t matter how talented a player you are, if it is not backed by consistent performances, it is hardly of any use. The situation with Kusal Mendis has exactly been the same in the World Cup 2019. The Sri Lankan middle-order batsman, who happens to be one of the most stylish and elegant players had a troubled tournament. Mendis started the mega event with a golden duck followed by 2 runs in the next game. In the latter stages of the tournament, he got to starts but never could make the most of them.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 7
Runs: 143
Average: 20.42
S/R: 67.13
4. Glenn Maxwell | Australia
Australia had a lot of expectations from Glenn Maxwell. He got to bat at number five or number six in most of the games and often had plenty of overs left. But not for once he tried to dig in and get a big score. Maxwell always looked to hit every ball out of the park and thus couldn’t get notable scores which led to huge disappointment. Because of his inability to stay out in the middle for long, Australia couldn’t finish games off on a good note on many occasions.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 9
Runs: 155
Average: 22.14
S/R: 163.16
5. Soumya Sarkar | Bangladesh
Soumya Sarkar of Bangladesh was in great form before the tournament started. He did extremely well in the tri-series that was played in May and thus the expectations on him were quite high. However, Sarkar couldn’t even get one fifty during the course of the tournament. He scored only 166 runs and threw his wicket away very often after getting off to starts. Since the openers failed to do well, there was a lot of pressure on the Bangladesh middle order in almost every game.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 8
Runs: 166
Average: 20.75
S/R: 101.21
6. Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & wk)| Pakistan
Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed failed to lead his troops from the front with his exploits with the bat. He played well in the initial phase of the tournament. But then, he got off to starts in most of the games and threw it away. Sarfaraz registered only one fifty during the course of the tournament and his average is high because the wicket-keeper batsman came out to bat towards the end of the innings and stayed not out on three occasions.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 8
Runs: 143
Average: 28.60
S/R: 82.18
7. Andre Russell | Windies
After his exploits in the IPL, almost every team in the tournament was threatened by Andre Russell and the Windies. However, just like some of the other players in the team, even Andre Russell had a poor tournament before he was ruled out due to a knee injury. His performances in the World Cup were nowhere near what he did in the IPL a few months ago. Thus, the fans ended up being hugely disappointed. He fared decent enough with the ball in hand.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 4
Runs: 36
Average: 13
S/R: 124.13
Wickets: 5
8. Isuru Udana | Sri Lanka
Isuru Udana is a highly successful bowler in T20 cricket. However, his performances in ODI cricket and particularly World Cup 2019 was nowhere close to encouraging. Udana hasn’t managed to pick more than two wickets in a single innings even though he played all the games for Sri Lanka. He was on the expensive side as well and couldn’t repay back the faith the management had in him. Moreover, he struggled with the bat and hence finds a spot in this Flop XI.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 7
Wickets: 6
Average: 49.33
Economy: 5.94
9. Rashid Khan | Afghanistan
Rashid Khan, of all the bowlers, has had a miserable time in the World Cup 2019. He bagged the embarrassing record of the most expensive figures in a World Cup game when Afghanistan played England. Oppositions have always looked to target the leg-spinner in the tournament. Moreover, he bowled shorter T20 lengths that didn’t help his cause. Batsmen had enough time to get underneath the ball and smash him to the boundaries. Rashid will have to reflect upon these performances and do better the next time around.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 9
Wickets: 6
Average: 69.33
Economy: 5.79
10. Kuldeep Yadav | India
Kuldeep Yadav’s troubles from the IPL seemed to have continued into the World Cup 2019 as well. The chinaman has had his own shares of brilliance but that wasn’t enough to save him from getting into this Flop XI. The rival teams have found it to be a lot easier to face Kuldeep in recent times. They’ve picked his variations really well which has nullified his impact in the tournament. Even though his performance in the league stages hasn’t been great, the delivery that he bowled to dismiss Babar Azam still stands out.
His stats from the league stage
Matches: 7
Wickets: 6
Average: 56.16
Economy: 5.02
11. Kagiso Rabada | South Africa
South Africa’s troubles in the tournament only intensified after they lost Dale Steyn and Anrich Nortje early in the tournament. Thus, the skipper and the management were dependent of Kagiso Rabada to make up for the loss. However, Rabada couldn’t do so and the fatigue clearly showed in the way he bowled. Skipper Faf du Plessis also expressed his frustration in between which wasn’t really encouraging. Rabada has picked three of his eleven wickets in only one game and has largely been ineffective.
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