IPL 2018: Team-wise one retained player who failed badly

The league stage of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has finally come to an end. The points table was never as interesting as it was this year. As many as five teams were competing for two playoff berths right till the last week. The top-four teams were not to be known until the last game of the league was played. However, it was the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals that held their nerves till the end and managed to cling on to the remaining two playoff places. Except for DD, all other teams have done relatively well in this tournament. Although a few teams took some time to get their combinations right early on, they did manage to get them alright towards the end. The players who were retained and for whom the RTM cards were used were expected to play big roles in the team. However, that wasn’t to be the case with all these retained players. In fact, some of them had a really terrible season to the extent that they had to be benched for a few games. These players didn’t fit in right into the combinations of the team and remained to be severe disappointments. Here are the retained players team-wise who failed this year: 1. Sunrisers Hyderabad – Deepak Hooda Deepak Hooda of SRH plays a shot. (Photo Source: Twitter) There would be very few who would have given the Sunrisers a chance after the initial jolt at the beginning of the season. Having lost David Warner, Sunrisers faced a major set back and it seemed really tough for them to make it into the playoffs. However, they have defied all the odds and emerged as the table toppers after the league stage. Deepak Hooda was one of the five retained players in the Sunrisers setup. He was expected to play the finishers’ role in the lineup. He did that up to a certain extent when he managed to pull off a blinder against Mumbai Indians. But, later on, he failed to live up to the expectations. Hooda only managed to score 65 runs in the 7 games that he played at a strike rate of just over 110. 2. Chennai Super Kings – Faf du Plessis Faf du Plessis of Chennai Super Kings. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Chennai Super Kings have made a dream comeback into the IPL this year. Having been out for two years, they came back strong and proved why they were a team to beat. Most of the players whom they have retained have lived up to the expectations. Four out of the five players who they retained helped them win a match or two almost single-handedly. However, Faf du Plessis was a major disappointment. He was not a part of the starting XI but gradually got his chances. But, he failed to grab the chances with both the hands and somewhat had a terrible season. Faf played four games this season and has only managed to score 85 runs in four games with the bat at an average of 21 and strike rate of 111. He found it tough to get the big shots going and struggled against the spinners. 3. Kolkata Knight Riders – Piyush Chawla Piyush Chawla of Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo by IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders have had somewhat a mixed season this year. They looked far too superior to the other teams in a few games while it was the exact opposite in the other games. Somewhat, they managed to perform well at the right times and ensured a place in the playoffs. Most of their retained players came good this season. However, the decision to retain Piyush Chawla came as quite a shocker. He played six games in 2017 and only picked 6 wickets at an economy close to 9. This season has been somewhat similar if not worse for Chawla. He picked 11 wickets in 13 games and has leaked quite a few runs. However, he also bowled a lot in the powerplay this year where he found minimum success. 4. Rajasthan Royals – Dhawal Kulkarni Dhawal Kulkarni RR. (Photo Source: Twitter) Rajasthan Royals were very fortunate to end up in the top four. At one stage of the league, there was no way that they could make it to the playoffs. But, the promotion of Jos Buttler as the opener helped them change their fortunes completely. They looked a different side all of a sudden and Buttler single-handedly won them quite a few games. But, Buttler is now no more with the team as he left for his national duties and it will be a huge challenge for RR to do well in the playoffs. RR retained three players ahead of the season out of their six available options. Steve Smith, unfortunately, couldn’t play and only Ajinkya Rahane and Dhawal Kulkarni were left. Out of these two, Dhawal had more of a disastrous season than Rahane. Dhawal picked four wickets in the eight games that he played at an economy close to 9.5 and has had a disastrous season this year. 5. Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma returns back. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Mumbai Indians’ success over the years could largely be attributed to the success of Rohit Sharma. Even since he shifted to Mumbai team from the Deccan Chargers, he tasted some great success. In fact, he fell short of the 400-run-mark just four times since 2011 and fell short of the 300-run-mark in a season only once. That single time too came this year as he only managed to pile up 286 runs this year. Although MI made a decent comeback in the latter half of the tournament, it wasn’t enough for them to get to the playoffs. Rohit threw his wicket away on several occasions and didn’t take the onus upon himself this season. Except for a 94 that he scored against RCB and one short little cameo against CSK, there weren’t any notable innings from him leading to the downside of Mumbai. 6. Royal Challengers Bangalore – Sarfaraz Khan Sarfaraz Khan. (Photo Source: Twitter) It took everyone by a huge surprise when RCB went on to retain Sarfaraz Khan before the auction. The 20-year-old didn’t play a single game for the side in 2017. His fitness was a major issue back then and no one in their wildest of dreams expected RCB to retain him ahead of the likes of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. However, this gamble didn’t pay the dividends for RCB as Sarfaraz failed terribly with the bat. He featured in 7 games this season and has only managed to score 51 runs which also included a high score of 22*. His average this season was just 10 and strike rate about 125. He proved to be a major disappointment and hence, RCB middle-order looked really vulnerable to the oppositions. 7. Kings XI Punjab – Axar Patel Axar Patel of KXIP. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Kings XI Punjab team had a dream start to the season having won five out of their first six games. Their openers clicked and bowlers fared decently well. However, as the tournament progressed, their weaknesses were exposed one by one. They only won one game in the next eight and were kicked out of the playoffs race in the most embarrassing manner. They looked too over-dependent on a few players which didn’t go well with them. Axar Patel, who was the only player retained ahead of the auctions had a terrible time with the team. After playing the initial few games, Axar had to be benched due to an injury. He later came back into the side but proved to be of a little worth. In the 9 games he played this season, Axar only managed to score 80 runs and has picked only three wickets. He was also expensive and conceded runs at an economy close to 8.5. 8. Delhi Daredevils – Mohammad Shami Mohammed Shami of Delhi Daredevils in action. (Photo by: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Mohammad Shami entered into this tournament on the back of a major controversy. There were allegations of domestic violence against him. Moreover, he also met with an accident just a few days before the league. However, despite all these odds, he still played the IPL but didn’t make any impact. Earlier, he was retained by the Delhi Daredevils at the auction after they decided to use their RTM card for him. The 28-year-old played in the initial stages of the tournament. In 4 games, he picked 3 wickets at an average of 48 and economy rate of over 10. He conceded 144 runs off the 83 balls he bowled before he was axed from the playing XI. He never again got a chance to make it back into the XI after that.

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