5 Players whose World Cup performances were affected by IPL

A few days ago India celebrated the 36th anniversary of their maiden World Cup triumph. A lot has changed since then, including the lifestyle of cricketers. A cricketer’s life is never easy, but it was perhaps not as tedious back then, as it is now. With the enormous success of the ICC World T20 2007, cricket saw the rise of various franchise-based T20 competitions.

With these, the playing commitments of the players increased. Each match in any T20 league is like a pressure cooker, with billions of eyes glued to the TV sets. While there’s a lot of money from the contracts, there are many added-on bonuses. Good performances earn a cricketer brand endorsement deals and more importantly, a national call-up. However, owing to the insanely tedious schedule of a modern-day cricketer, these leagues can have a negative effect on a player’s performance. Let us have a look at 5 players whose performance was affected by the recently concluded Indian Premier League:

5. Moeen Ali – England

Virat Kohli’s IPL side, Royal Challengers Bangalore had a tough time in the last edition of IPL. Many big names failed to deliver, but English all-rounder Moeen Ali was a revelation. He played 11 matches for his team and scored 220 runs at an average of nearly 30 and an incredible strike rate of over 160. He also picked up 6 wickets and maintained a brilliant economy rate of under 7 runs per over.

But his performances have become lukewarm just when it mattered the most – in the World Cup. The 32-year-old has scored only 75 runs in the tournament so far and his average has dropped below 20. His strike rate of 111 is also not convincing. He has been a bit better with the ball, taking 5 wickets so far.