Asia Cup 2022: Flop XI of the tournament so far

The Asia Cup 2022 caravan is at its Super Fours stage. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are battling it out for a spot in the finals. On the other hand, Bangladesh and Hong Kong were unable to secure a win at the group stage and have faced an early exit. While many batsmen and bowlers have delivered outstanding performances in the tournament, some have failed to showcase their magic. With the tournament in its final stages, the teams will look to put their best foot forward in order to win the trophy. Meanwhile, let us look at the Flop XI of the tournament so far. Flop XI of Asia Cup 2022 so far: 1. Babar Azam (PAK) Babar Azam came into the tournament in a rich vein of form and would have hoped to replicate the prolific run in the Asia Cup 2022. However, the Pakistan captain has failed to put on a show with the bat. The Number one T20I batter has just scored 33 runs in the three outings. This has denied the Men in Green a solid start. Mohammed Rizwan might have made up for his opening partner’s poor form till now but the 27-year-old's low returns shall concern the team management. Babar has been a pillar of Pakistan’s batting lineup. The team has generally built their batting strategies around their solid opening batters. The ace-batter’s form will be crucial if the Men in Green are to bid for their third Aisa Cup title. 2. KL Rahul (IND) KL Rahul has been looking out of touch since he made his comeback to Cricket. He had a poor outing in the ODIs against Zimbabwe and this seems to have carried on to the ongoing multi-nation tournament. The Indian vice-captain has scored 64 runs at a low strike rate of 106.66. The veteran batter has looked scratchy in most of the outings, especially in the game against Hong Kong. Rahul has been a run-machine in the T20 circuit but has looked a pale shadow of his old classical self. The lack of runs from the 30-year-old has put more pressure on India skipper Rohit Sharma at the start of the innings. The Men in blue have been playing an aggressive brand of cricket in the past couple of months but the slow starts from Rahul have been working against this ideology. The dashing opener played some glorious strokes against Pakistan on Sunday (September 4) and the team management would hope the ace-batter build on this going forward. 3. Nizakat Khan (HK) Nizakat Khan is among the most experienced cricketers in Hong Kong. The team would have banked on their skipper to get their side to a perfect start but the veteran batter stuttered in both the matches. The 30-year-old had a decent outing in the Asia Cup Qualifiers but failed in the bigger arena. Nizakat could just score 18 runs at a strike rate of 72 in the group stage. The right-handed batter has been a lynchpin of the line-up and his poor form crippled Hong Kong’s chances to pose threat to the top-ranked teams like India and Pakistan. Nizakat would look to learn from the bittersweet experiences and get back amongst the runs. 4. Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) Shakib Al Hasan is arguably among the best all-rounders in world cricket. Bangladesh appointed the veteran player as their captain ahead of the Asian tournament and would have hoped the 35-year-old to fire his team to the next round. But Shakib could not perform as per his lofty standards. Bangladesh’s skipper was quite economical with the ball but could not provide the much-needed breakthroughs for his side. Shakib was a vital cog in the batting line-up but failed to put on a show with the bat. He scored just 35 runs at a strike rate of 112.9 on the group stage. With the misfiring opening pair, Shakib’s lack of runs dented his team’s hopes even more. He was the rock for Bangladesh at number three but unfortunately could not get going. 5. Charith Asalanka (SL) Charith Asalanka has been one of the most promising cricketers in the Sri Lankan circuit. He was one of the players to watch out for this tournament but the southpaw has been having a terrible run with the bat so far. In Asalanka’s three outings, he has made single-digit scores like 0,1 and 8. Sri Lanka who are having a great revival in their Asia Cup campaign would be concerned about the form of their vice-captain. Asalanka is a vital cog in the Sri Lankan middle order. He is quite destructive against spin and his form will be crucial if Dasun Shanka & Co. have to end their eight-year title drought. 6. Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN) There was a lot of debate around the role of Mushfiqur Rahim in Bangladesh’s team in the build up to the Asia Cup 2022. The veteran wicket-keeper was drafted in the middle order to be the pressure absorber and guide the team to a good score. The 35-year-old scored mere five runs in two matches and had no impact on the games whatsoever. Bangladesh would have hoped the wicket-keeper batter to come good in a marquee tournament but it was not to be. Mushfiqur's awful campaign added to Bangladesh’s misery who already had an unsettled opening pair. As a result, Shakib & Co. was not able to secure even a single win under their belt and failed to qualify for the Super Fours. Rahim also announced his retirement from the format. 7. Naveen-ul-Haq (AFG) One of the chinks in the armor of Afghanistan this tournament has been the bowling of Naveen-ul-Haq. The youngster has been good in patches but has struggled to maintain consistency. The Afghan pacer has taken three wickets at an economy of 8.54. Naveen-ul-Haq has shown a lot of promise but has not played to his potential. He was at the receiving end when Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa hit a game-changing 18 runs in an over. Mohammad Nabi & Co. have generally banked on their spinners to bail them out of crunch situations. When the spin trio is nullified, the likes of Naveen-ul-Haq are expected to step up. Naveen would look to put on a better show as Afghanistan clashes with the Asian heavyweights. 8. Mustafizur Rahman (BAN) Mustafizur Rahman has been arguably one of the best white-ball bowlers Bangladesh have ever produced. His exploits in the T20 format are well-known but the left-arm pacer has been far from his best this Asia Cup. The 26-year-old could only manage to take one wicket at an economy close to nine. The leader of Bangladesh’s pace attack succumbed under pressure leaking runs at crucial intervals. The team management would have expected more from the pacer. Mustafizur has not been able to get his act together of late and this was one of the reasons for Bangladesh’s poor campaign. 9. Avesh Khan (IND) Avesh Khan was drafted into the Asia cup squad as the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel was ruled out due to injury. It was a great chance for him to showcase his skills with the ball and stake a claim at the T20 World Cup slot. The 25-year-old however, failed to impress with the ball. In his two outings, he took two wickets and leaked runs at an economy of 12. Avesh Khan was quite inconsistent with his lines and lengths, especially in the match against Hong Kong. Given the Men in Blue has gone with just three seamers in the squad, Avesh’s role becomes a lot more important. He has had two stellar IPL (Indian Premier League) campaigns but has failed to replicate them in the international arena. The team management would hope the youngster gets his mojo back. 10. Haris Rauf (PAK) Haris Rauf has been having a very mediocre campaign with the ball. In his three outings, he managed to take just a wicket at an economy of 8.77. The 28-year old in the absence of pace-spearhead Shaheen Afridi is the most experienced seamer in Pakistan’s line-up. But Rauf has not been able to lead the seam attack as the Men in Green camp would have liked. The bite in Rauf’s bowling seems to be missing and the oppositions have been able to tackle the pacer without much hassle. The form of the speedster will be a point of concern as Babar & Co. look to end their 10-year title drought at the Asia Cup. 11. Yuzvendra Chahal (IND) Yuzvendra Chahal has been India's premier spinner and has been banked upon to give the Men in Blue regular breakthroughs. But the wily spinner has not been at his best this tournament. The leg-spinner has taken just a wicket in the tournament so far and he leaked runs on two of the occasions. Chahal‘s wicket-taking prowess was largely missed in India’s previous game against arch-rivals Pakistan where the Men in Blue were not able to take regular wickets in the middle overs and ended up losing the game. The Haryana-born is one of the most experienced bowlers in the Indian T20 setup and the lack of Jasprit Bumrah in the mix also adds the responsibility on the 32-year-old. Rohit & Co. would hope Chahal finds his rhythm and be back amongst the wickets.

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Asia Cup 2022: Flop XI of the tournament so far

While Babar Azam and KL Rahul have failed to create the magic with the bat , the likes of Mustafizur Raman and Yuzvendra Chahal have not delivered with the ball.

7. Naveen-ul-Haq (AFG)

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