IPL 2019: Flop XI of the group stages

The Indian Premier League (IPL) this time was scheduled a couple of months before the World Cup, which had a severe impact on the form of many players. While some players benefitted profusely, a few youngsters were being considered for the World Cup squad despite having no experience in International cricket, like Navdeep Saini. 

The tournament, like every year, has managed to provide a platform to some amazing talents but also resulted in the dip of form for a few cricketers. Some very prominent names in Indian and world cricket, who either came in with huge expectations or a heavy price tag, found it difficult to match up with the level of cricket this season.

A disappointing facet for some of the International teams is that a lot of cricketers who were picked in their respective World Cup squads lost momentum courtesy this edition.

Here’s the XI of cricketers who were a major disappointment for their franchise:

1. Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals):

It really is a sad sight to witness one of Indian cricket’s brightest prospects featuring in such XI. Prithvi Shaw had an amazing debut season last time and also made his Test debut a few months later. But this time around, he came in after recovering from a horrible ankle injury he suffered in Australia and failed to pick up from where he left.

The left-hander registered just 292 runs, out of which 99 runs came in one innings against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi. Keeping that aside, he scored just 193 runs in 13 games, with no other scores in excess of 50. Whilst Dhawan was doing a great job for the side from one end, he didn’t receive the greatest of support from the young stalwart.

DC have qualified for the playoffs and will want the dashing opener to come good and take them through to the finals.

2. Shane Watson (Chennai Super Kings):

One of the greatest contributors to this amazing tournament, all-rounder Shane Watson was the first ever Man of the tournament in 2008 during his tenure with the Rajasthan Royals. He time and again proves his worth when in fact everyone else has a contradicting opinion about him, his century in the IPL 2018 final against the Sunrisers Hyderabad is a classic example of that.

Yet, we didn’t see something similar this season from the 37-year-old, who has encountered one of his worst outings in the IPL ever. He scored 258 runs in 14 matches for the side and just like Prithvi Shaw, there was a score of 96 included in those 258 runs which came against Sunrisers. His average this season was under 20 and strike rate too was uncharacteristically under 125.

CSK have persisted with Watson at the top to partner Faf du Plessis and will most probably continue with the same partnership for the playoffs as well. It is time Watto replicates his performance from big matches of 2018.

3. Ambati Rayudu (Chennai Super Kings):

The team might have ended among the top two, but two of their crucial batsmen have underperformed this season. After such a sensational campaign last year, no one expected Ambati Rayudu‘s performances to dip so low. His career took a different turn after last season’s heroics, he got a national call-up into the Indian ODI side.

He played a majority of the matches as the number four leading up to the World Cup, yet his poor run in late December and early 2019 saw the selectors show a cold shoulder to him. Rayudu scored 219 runs this season, but most importantly, he even failed to maintain a strike-rate above 100 (90.50).

In this format, for a top order batsman, that is a major failure no matter what. He scored just one fifty despite playing all the games and maintained a below-par average of 19.91. It will take a great mental effort for Rayudu to get through with what has transpired in the last few weeks.

4. Vijay Shankar (Sunrisers Hyderabad):

Vijay Shankar and Ambati Rayudu registered identical numbers and both of them being a part of the flop XI of the tournament is really a love story better than you know what. He was asked to play a crucial role in SRH’s middle order and he failed big time. For a player who finds himself in the Indian World Cup squad and expected to take responsibility at the crucial No.4 spot, not registering a fifty-plus score is a major disappointment.

With 219 runs in 14 games for the Sunrisers, Shankar clearly hasn’t contributed as much as the fans had expected him to. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder barely got a chance to bowl in the tournament, which didn’t serve the purpose of his selection as an all-rounder in the side.

It’ll be interesting to see if he can get over this poor performance ahead of the big tournament in possibly the final opportunity he has in the Eliminator against Delhi Capitals.

5. Marcus Stoinis (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

Another name who is expected to play a lot of games in the World Cup, Marcus Stoinis did nothing good to his confidence during his stint in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Aussie missed a couple of games in the beginning and left just before the group stages finished. But while he was there, Stoinis played every game possible.

He, unfortunately, failed to live up to the expectations of skipper Virat Kohli as well as the team management, having registered just 211 runs in 10 innings. Stoinis did maintain a healthy strike rate of 135.26 and kept striking some lusty blows, but couldn’t build up and produce big knocks for the side, which did no good to himself nor the team.

He will be hoping to come back next season and prove his worth to the loyal RCB fans but before that shrug this aside when he wears the Yellow jersey for the World Cup.

6. Colin Ingram (Delhi Capitals):

Colin Ingram came into the current setup of the Delhi Capitals to be one of their most important men in the middle order. The franchise went all guns blazing to pick the South African at the auction, even when it cost them Rs 6.4 crore. Ingram did command that price given his form having been an integral part of Adelaide Strikers’ title-winning BBL campaign in 2017/18 and his experience in this format.

In 12 matches for the Capitals this season, the Proteas cricketer could only register 184 runs and failed to get to a single fifty-plus score. With an underwhelming average of 18.40, Ingram’s inconsistency might’ve just cost the Capitals a place in the top two.

Not that he didn’t have the opportunities, there were times when the top order failed and he was in with the platform set to make a winning difference but he couldn’t. It will be interesting to see if they continue their association with him next season.

7. Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals):

Ben Stokes’ first season in the IPL was perhaps one of the finest debut season achievements of all-time in the history of the tournament. The English cricketer came in with a price tag of INR 14.5 crore; the most expensive then, yet managed to produce an MVP winning performance.

Things didn’t work the same way for Rajasthan Royals, who continued their association with Stokes, who they bought for INR 12.5 crore last season. It has been another horrible run for the English all-rounder, who is yet to deliver a top performance ever since he was involved in that brawl in Birmingham.

In 9 matches this season, Stokes registered only 123 runs and picked up just six wickets with the ball at an economy rate of 11.22 before returning home for the series against Pakistan. His poor run reflected on the performance of his side as well, and they were knocked out registering just five wins in 14 games.

8. Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

Another one of the rising stars from India who made it to this unenviable list this season is Mohammed Siraj. Despite making his T20I and ODI debut with a string of impressive performances, his form hit an all-time low this season courtesy some reckless bowling time and again.

The Hyderabadi speedster played nine games for the club this season picking up just 7 wickets. His economy of 9.55 while bowling mostly in the middle overs is simply unacceptable and the fans didn’t enjoy his presence a lot. While Virat Kohli kept trusting the underconfident pacer pretty much every game, the 24-year-old was just having a forgettable time.

It is high time Siraj who has always had his share of the spotlight make amends and corrects the permanent mistakes or will fall off the radar in no time.

9. Umesh Yadav (Royal Challengers Bangalore):

Virat Kohli would be utterly disgusted with what he got from one of his most trusted lieutenants in Umesh Yadav. He had an outstanding outing last season, where he picked more wickets with the new ball than any other bowler. Umesh charged in and delivered even when no one else did and that gave RCB a lot of confidence with regards to their bowling coming into the 2010 season.

This season, however, there was some tinkering with his role, but having said that, but there can be no excuses to what he produced with the ball. Defending 26 runs off the final over against MS Dhoni, the Vidarbha pacer almost conceded all the runs but fell short by 2 runs in the end.

In 11 games for the club this season, the right-arm pacer picked up just 8 wickets at an unimpressive economy rate of 9.81 and a bowling average of 46.28. Adding to his disappointment, he wasn’t picked for the World Cup squad either, which may seem justified now.

10. Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals):

For the second season running, Rajasthan Royals invested an awful lot of money on Jaydev Unadkat and yet again, he turned out to be a disappointment. It will come as a huge surprise for the fans if the club manages to continue the association with him in the 13th season.

He could just not replicate his heroics from the 2017 season in both the seasons he played for Rajasthan. They tried him for all sorts of roles from giving him the new ball to bowling at the death, but Unadkat with his left-arm pace failed to evolve in a scenario when teams had read and decoded his game.

In 11 matches for the Royals this season, Unadkat chipped in with just 10 wickets with the best bowling figures of 2/26. His economy of 10.66 was one of the worst this season and he also recorded a bowling average of 39.80. Apart from the odd one or two over spells, he barely had a great outing with the cherry this time.

11. Kuldeep Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders):

No one expected a spinner of Kuldeep Yadav‘s sill and stature to be present in such an obnoxious list. With so many expectations on his shoulders, the young chinaman bowler endured perhaps his worst ever IPL season, which includes getting smashed for 28 runs in an over against RCB by the hands of Moeen Ali. He eventually was dropped after a few games and never came back into the XI.

Kuldeep picked up just four wickets in the nine matches he played and conceded runs profusely at an economy of 8.66. The youngster usually does a great job in tricking the batsmen with his variations, but it seemed like they were able to read him off the pitch very easily, a scary sign maybe for Team India ahead of the World Cup.

A huge test of character awaits the youngster who probably could achieve unparalleled greatness if he can get over these barriers.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.