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 BRISTOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Moeen Ali of England heads back to the pavillion after his 102 runs during the third Royal London One Day International match between England and West Indies at The Brightside Ground on September 24, 2017 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) 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. 4. Andre Russell – West Indies Andre Russell. (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images) Andre Russell was the undisputed king of the 2019 edition of IPL. Though his team, Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t have a season to remember, the Caribbean giant had a gala time in India. Russell scored 510 runs in 14 matches at an average of over 50. His 200+ strike rate urged many cricket enthusiasts to appeal for a DNA test. With the ball, he picked up 11 wickets. However, Russell kept on playing through despite injury concerns. He even missed games owing to injury, but came back stronger. But that tiring campaign has had a bad affect on West Indies’ World Cup hopes. The 31-year-old was ruled out of the competition just halfway through the tournament. In the 4 matches he played, he scored just 36 runs at an average of 12. 3. Kuldeep Yadav – India Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) Unlike the previous mentions, Indian chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav‘s case is a bit different. An extremely vital piece in the Indian jigsaw puzzle, Yadav had an IPL to forget. He played 9 matches and took only 4 wickets. Not only that, as he conceded runs at an economy rate of 8.66 runs per over, the highest in his IPL career. Owing to his poor run of form, skipper Dinesh Karthik eventually dropped him out of the playing XI. The 24-year-old naturally started his World Cup campaign with low confidence. Known for his knack of picking up wickets, he has got only 3 batsmen out so far in the tournament, 5 less than his partner-in-crime Yuzvendra Chahal. Though Chahal’s has managed to hide his partner’s stats with his brilliant performances, Indian fans would want the left-arm spinner to get his rhythm back. 2. Rashid Khan – Afghanistan Rashid Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter) Afghanistan will have hundreds of failed plans to introspect after the World Cup, but one thing no one would have expected was Rashid Khan to have a below-average campaign. The leg-spinner leaves his mark anywhere and everywhere he goes, but perhaps England is not the right place for him. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Khan picked up 17 wickets in 15 games at an economy rate of just over 6 runs per over. But things have changed drastically at the World Cup. The highly-rated spinner has picked up just 4 wickets in the 7 matches he has featured in so far. One would expect him to be Afghanistan’s leading wicket-taker in any competition, but he has been the least-successful regular bowler for them amongst those who have played 7 games. He has also leaked runs at an economy rate of more than 6 runs per over. 1. Kagiso Rabada – South Africa Kagiso Rabada. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Moeen Ali was always going to be a hit and miss, Kuldeep Yadav’s confidence issues were known to all, just as were Andre Russell’s injury concerns, and pundits don’t expect Afghanistan to do a miracle in a World Cup, except an upset or two. Hence, our last entry is hands down the most shocking one. South African pacer Kagiso Rabada was having the time of his life a few months back in the IPL. Playing for Delhi Capitals, he picked up 25 wickets, the most in the tournament. For obvious reasons, many experts were putting their money on South Africa to win the World Cup. Those claims were on clearly on the basis of Rabada’s performance. But around a month into the tournament, South Africa are sitting at the second-last position. Rabada has picked up only 6 wickets in 7 games so far. Amongst the regular bowlers of his team, he has been the worst in terms of taking wickets.

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