Flop all-format XI of the year 2021

2021 is almost about to end, and we witnessed some of the best individual and collective performances this year. This year, we had a T20 World Cup that Australia won after beating New Zealand in the final. We also saw New Zealand winning the first-ever World Test Championship final against India. Kyle Jamieson, who picked a fifer in the first innings of the game, won the player of the match award. But, not every player was able to produce a performance like that of Jamieson, and several players failed to deliver for their team when required the most. Here is the flop all-format XI of the year 2021 1. Chris Gayle Chris Gayle of West Indies hits 6. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images) Chris Gayle last played a Test match in September 2014 and the last ODI in August 2019. However, T20 is one format in which he loves to perform and is not ready to give up yet. West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) picked Gayle for the T20 World Cup 2021 to help the team lift the trophy for the second time in a row. But, that was not the case. Gayle made 45 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 85.33. West Indies won only a single game against Bangladesh by three runs and failed to qualify for the next stage. Overall, Gayle made 272 runs in 21 T20Is this year at an average of 15.11 and a strike rate of 112.39. The WICB had a massive expectancy from Gayle, as it is evident that he played in over 20 T20Is in a year for the first time in his entire career. 2. Aaron Finch Aaron Finch. (Photo by Michael Steele-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) Under Aaron Finch’s leadership, Australia won the T20 World Cup 2021. He became the fifth Australian captain to lead his team to a victory in the World Cup event. Australia might have had a successful run under Finch’s captaincy this year, but he himself was not in the best of his form throughout the year. Finch made 135 runs in seven matches in T20 WC 2021 at an average of 19.28 and a strike rate of 116.37. He failed to hit a half-century, and his highest score of 44 runs came in a losing cause against England. Finch played 17 T20Is this year and made only 459 runs at an average of 28.68 and a strike rate of 125.06. After the tournament, he took a rest to recover from the knee soreness that occurred due to knee surgery. 3. Glenn Maxwell Glenn Maxwell. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Glenn Maxwell had a dream run in the IPL 2021 for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He made 513 runs in 15 matches at an average of 42.75 and a strike rate of 144.10. His performance helped RCB retain him ahead of the mega auction. However, Maxwell had a pretty lousy year when it came to international cricket. In the T20 WC 2021, Maxwell made 64 runs in seven matches and reached the double-digit score only twice. Maxwell had hit only two boundaries in the tournament before making 28 runs off 33 balls in the final against New Zealand, which included four boundaries and one six. Overall, Maxwell played 12 T20Is for Australia and made only 157 runs at an average of 17.44 and a strike rate of 135.34. He made a half-century against New Zealand on March 3, 2021, and it was the only time he could score over 30 runs for Australia this year. 4. Eoin Morgan (captain) Eoin Morgan. (Photo by Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images) Eoin Morgan had a successful run as England’s limited-overs captain this year. But, as a batter, he continued to struggle throughout the year. In four ODIs, Morgan made 103 runs at a strike rate of 79.23. In T20Is, Morgan made 150 runs in 16 matches at an average of 16.66 and a strike rate of 120. It is his lowest score in a year when he played over ten games. In the T20 World Cup 2021, England won all their league matches and lost the semi-final against New Zealand. In the tournament, Morgan made 68 runs in six games. 5. Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Ajinkya Rahane last played an ODI in February 2018 and a T20I in August 2016. But, he has been India’s one of the best batters when it comes to Test cricket. Rahane has made 4795 runs in 79 Test matches and captained India to a famous Test series win against Australia last year. However, the dynamics changed this year as Rahane struggled to score runs. He could make only 411 runs in 12 matches at an average of 19.57, including two half-centuries. Rahane failed to score a century this year. After a series of disappointing performances, he was dropped from the team for the second Test against New Zealand this month. Also, the Indian selectors removed him from the position of vice-captain of the Test team. 6. Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper) Mushfiqur Rahim. (Photo Source: Twitter) Mushfiqur Rahim is the most crucial player for Bangladesh in every format. He has delivered for the team on several occasions and is considered a match-winner. However, the year 2021 was not the best one for Rahim as he failed to leave a mark on the team. In the T20 WC 2021, he made 144 runs in eight matches at an average of 20.57 and a strike rate of 113.38, including a half-century. Rahim made 443 runs in seven matches in Test cricket and failed to hit a century. He featured in nine ODIs for Bangladesh and made 407 runs at a strike rate of 76.64. In T20Is, Rahim could make only 183 runs in 13 matches at an average of 18.30. 7. Hardik Pandya Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Hardik Pandya was once an all-rounder that India needed desperately. He was finishing matches for the team and picked wickets at crucial points. However, 2021 was not the year that Hardik would love to remember. In six ODIs, Pandya made 119 runs at an average of 23.80 and could make only a single half-century, which came against England. Hardik made 64 runs off 63 balls against England on March 28, 2021. In T20Is, he made 165 runs in 11 matches at an average of 27.50. He scored over 30 runs twice this year and failed to reach a half-century. 8. Stuart Broad Stuart Broad. (Photo by MICHAEL STEELE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The second Ashes Test was the 150th of Stuart Broad’s career. He has picked 526 wickets in Test matches at an average of 27.92. James Anderson and Broad are one of the lethal duos in Test cricket. However, this year things were not the same for Broad. He picked only 12 wickets in seven matches at an average of 39.50. He failed to pick a fifer this year, and his best bowling figure of four for 48 came against New Zealand in the first innings of the Birmingham Test. In the last five innings, Broad has failed to pick more than one wicket for England. Against India, he played two Test matches in Chennai and Ahmedabad. He failed to pick a single wicket in these two matches even after bowling 43 overs. Last year, Broad played eight games and picked 38 wickets at an average of 14.76. 9. Lungi Ngidi Lungi Ngidi. (Photo Source: Twitter) Lungi Ngidi won the player of the match award on his debut against Sri Lanka in a T20I game. When he made his Test debut against India, he earned the same award again. In the ten Test matches he has played, Ngidi has picked 32 wickets at an average of 23.31. He has 54 wickets across his name in 29 ODIs and has picked 36 wickets in 23 T20Is. However, in 2021, Ngidi has failed to impress the South African team management. Ngidi picked 14 wickets in four Test matches at an average of 19.14. In three ODIs, he picked only a single wicket and picked eight wickets in seven T20Is. His dip in form is why Ngidi has not played an international match since July 2021 for South Africa. 10. Ravi Rampaul Ravi Rampaul. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Ravi Rampaul was one of the surprise call-ups the West Indies team made for the T20 WC 2021. He last played a T20I for West Indies back in 2015. However, his performance in franchise cricket was enough for him to return to the setup. Rampaul was the leading wicket-taker in the CPL 2021 as he picked 19 wickets in ten matches at an average of 16.21. He has picked 219 wickets in 171 T20s for teams across the globe at an average of 21.40, an economy of 7.64, and a strike rate of 16.8. In the T20 World Cup 2021, he managed to pick only two wickets in four matches. Rampaul had an average of 49 during the tournament. Due to his ineffective performance, he was dropped from the side after the T20 WC. 11. Varun Chakravarthy Varun Chakravarthy. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Varun Chakravarthy was touted as one of the biggest things in world cricket. His performances in the Indian Premier League made him the mystery spinner. His big chance came when the Indian team picked him for the T20 WC. Chakravarthy made his T20 WC debut against Pakistan and failed to leave a mark as he went wicketless. The same script was on repeat mode in the following matches against New Zealand and Scotland. After trying his mystery for three games, India dropped him from the playing 11, and he failed to pick a single wicket in the marquee event. Chakravarthy played six T20Is for India this year and picked two wickets that came against Sri Lanka during the limited-overs series back in July 2021.

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Flop all-format XI of the year 2021

Several players failed to deliver for their teams when required the most.

4. Eoin Morgan (captain)

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