Cricket in 2018: Flop ODI XI of the year

The year 2018 is about to end, and we have had the opportunity to witness as many as 256 ODI games. These games produced some exciting encounters, we also testified quite a few excellent performances with the bat and the ball. Once again it was Virat Kohli who dominated the batting charts (both ODIs and Tests) in 2018. Meanwhile, with the ball, it was Rashid Khan who finished as the highest wicket-taker (ODIs) in this year. A lot of players contributed heavily to their team’s success in ODIs in the year 2018. Howbeit, quite a few of them, failed to deliver the goods for their teams as per the expectations. Thus, while having a look at these players’ performances, we have picked an ODI XI of the players who had a disappointing year. Here is the Flop ODI XI of 2018. 1. Colin Munro (New Zealand) Colin Munro. (Photo Source: Twitter) Colin Munro was envisioned to be one of the most significant players for New Zealand in the year 2018. However, the left-handed batsman didn’t have the best of times as he failed to muster runs for the BlackCaps, especially in the ODIs. In a bid to accelerate the innings, he threw away his wicket more often than not. The explosive batsman only managed to stack up 254 runs from the 13 ODIs that he played in 2018. While averaging 19.53, Munro hit just two fifties in the year. The numbers seem to be pretty ordinary for a player of his stature. Nonetheless, his best performance came in an ODI series against Pakistan in January this year. In that series, Munro amassed 156 runs at an average of 31.20. 2. Evin Lewis (WIndies) Evin Lewis of WIndies. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) The young Trinidadian batsman has now become the core of WIndies’ opening department in ODIs. Hailed as one of the fieriest batsmen, Lewis shot to fame with his batting exploits in T20 cricket. His excellent performances in T20Is formed the base for his entry to Windies’ ODI squad. In no time he made his cast stronger in the ODIs as well. However, Lewis saw a plunge in his form this year as he failed to score runs for WI in the 50-overs format. He featured in ten ODIs for the national team in 2018. From these ten games, the Trinidadian scored just 274 runs at an average of 27.40 and a strike-rate of 71.91. The player he is, and how minuscule these numbers are, force him in this list. 3. Marlon Samuels (WIndies) Marlon Samuels of Windies. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images) Marlon Samuels is one of the very few experienced players in the current WIndies team. Samuels for long has been Windies’ best bet in their middle-order, more importantly in the ODIs. Having played 207 ODIs, the veteran campaigner has scored over 5000 ODI runs for Windies. Nonetheless, the year 2018 was a different story for the Jamaican batsman as he grappled to make his willow do the talking. Being a part of 15 ODIs, Marlon notched-up 365 runs at a below-par average of 24.33 and a low strike-rate of 66.97. His best of 2018 came in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in March. Howbeit, after the tournament his form fell drastically as from the remaining eight matches he scored just 134 runs. Nevertheless, the Jamaican player will hope to improve his figures with the 2019 World Cup around the corner. 4. MS Dhoni (wk) (C) (India) MS Dhoni. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) MS Dhoni unquestionably happens to be a surprise addition to this list. The former Indian captain has been an influential member of the Indian limited-overs team both with the bat and behind the stumps. However, this year we saw downside in Dhoni’s form with the bat. Failure of rotating the strike became the consequential villain for Dhoni in 2018. It put an extra pressure upon the wicket-keeper batsman which eventually added to the struggles of MS. Dhoni played 20 ODIs in the year 2018. From these games, he managed to score 275 runs at a despicable strike-rate of 71.42. Moreover, it is the first time since 2005 that he has failed to score a fifty in a calendar year. He averages a mediocre 25.00 in ODIs this year. However, the 37-year-old will look to end his struggles in the coming year that starts with the series in Australia and New Zealand. 5. Rovman Powell (WIndies) Rovman Powell. (Photo Source: Twitter) Rovman Powell, a hard-hitting Jamaican batsman, made his international debut with ODIs in 2016. He had a decent debut game as he scored a quick-fire 44 off 29 balls. Since then, he has been a significant member in the Windies’ lower middle-order, substantially in the ODIs. But, the year 2018 wasn’t on the same lines as Powell failed to show his prowess in ODIs. While featuring in 17 ODIs for WI, he could score just 373 runs in the year and these runs came at an average of 26.64 and a sorry strike-rate 78.52. He also managed to hit a century and a fifty in the process. However, 11 out of these 17 innings closed under a score of 20 which is enough to mirror his struggles in ODIs this year. 6. Hardik Pandya (India) India all-rounder Hardik Pandya. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) Hardik Pandya, the fiery all-rounder from Baroda, burst onto the international scenes in the year 2016 and soon he made his case stronger in the shorter formats of the game. And eventually, Pandya evolved to become a vital part of the Indian team across all the formats. Howbeit, the all-rounder, lost his way this year as he saw a drastic fall in his form, especially in the ODIs. This year Pandya featured in 10 ODIs for India and could contribute just 68 runs at a feeble average of 13.60 and a strike-rate of 87.17. His performances with the ball weren’t any better. Having bowled close to 71 overs, he managed to scalp just five wickets at an atrocious average and strike-rate of 79.20 and 85.60 respectively. 7. Moeen Ali (England) Moeen Ali of England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) The all-rounder has been a prominent player in the English team with majors in white-ball cricket. Moeen Ali made his debut in 2014 and thus far has scored 1621 runs and has taken close to 80 wickets for England in the ODIs. But, in the year 2018, Moeen more often than not failed to make vital contributions while the rest of the team continued to operate in top gear. The Englishman played 24 ODIs in these 12 months. From these 24 games, Moeen garnered 277 runs at a paltry average of 17.31 and had a strike-rate of 89.93. However, he performed slightly better with the ball as he scalped 29 wickets at an average of 34.48 and a strike-rate of 40.50. All in all, the batting all-rounder had a mediocre 2018 and would want to make amends sooner than later. 8. Devendra Bishoo (West Indies) Devendra Bishoo. (Photo by Ahmed Salahuddin/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Devendra Bishoo, West Indies’ premier spinner, seems to be at the fag end of his career. His numbers in 2018 definitely suggest that. At a time when most wrist spinners are thriving and enjoying top status in the world this experienced campaigner from Windies has failed to match the expectations and ended the year as an ordinary bowler. Having played 10 ODIs in 2018, the leg-spinner grabbed only six wickets at an average of 74.50 and a strike-rate of 87.00. His best performance came against Bangladesh in July when he registered the figures of 2 for 52. Bishoo has a lot to prove and will get an opportunity pretty early in the year 2019. 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India) Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Bhuvneshwar Kumar happens to be one of the most conspicuous players for the Indian team across all the formats. Having made his debut in 2012, Bhuvneshwar has seen a lot of ups and downs in his career due to injuries. Notwithstanding that, he has managed to make his case stronger at the international level. Howbeit, the year 2018, saw a sudden downfall in his bowling exploits, especially in ODIs, as he failed to gather wickets for India at the crunch moments. Also read: World’s largest cricket stadium shaping up well in Ahmedabad, India The Indian paceman featured in 14 ODIs this year. Having bowled close to 600 balls, Kumar scalped just 11 wickets at an average of 48.81 and a strike-rate of 55.00. Moreover, he shelled out runs at an economy rate of 5.31. These numbers are pretty ordinary for a player of his stature and calibre. Thus, with the 2019 World Cup approaching, Bhuvi will look to improve his performance in the coming period. 10. Mark Wood (England) Mark Wood of England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Mark Wood, a hit-the-deck bowler from England, has been in and out of the team primarily due to injuries. Bowling fast and beating the batsman by pace is his USP, unlike the other English bowlers who like to make the ball move in the air. It’s because of this variety that Wood has been an inevitable addition to the English ODI team. Nonetheless, he hasn’t enjoyed a good run in the year 2018. Having played 16 ODIs in last 12 months, Mark has taken 13 wickets at an average of 57.92 and a strike-rate of 60.9. The numbers don’t gather much appreciation if you are a bowler in the English team where the stakes are too high. Hence, with not so good numbers up his sleeve, the Englishman forces himself in this list. 11. Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) Mohammad Amir. (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images) Mohammad Amir, a fast bowler from Pakistan’s pace factory, made his comeback in the year 2016 after getting banned for five years with the reasons best known to us. Since his revival in international cricket, Amir has formed the nucleus of Pakistan’s bowling department. However, the year 2018 brought an impromptu ruin in his form, substantially in the ODIs. The paceman happened to be a part of 10 ODIs for Pakistan in 2018 and was even dropped due to poor form. In these games, he managed to grab only three wickets at an insignificant average of 100.66 and a strike-rate of 140.00. The year 2018 happened to be his lowest point in ODI career as for the first time he scalped less five wickets in a calendar year. Get the latest Cricket News and all the Cricket in 2018 articles, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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Cricket in 2018: Flop ODI XI of the year

We have picked an ODI XI of the players who had a disappointing year in terms of their individual performances.

10. Mark Wood (England)

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