IPL 2020: Flop XI of the tournament

The much-awaited 13th edition of the Indian Premier League – IPL finally came to an end. It was the closure of all the roller-coaster ride of emotions of the ardent fans cheering from the comforts of the home. The T20 extravaganza came out to be a saviour for the despondent people in a pandemic-riddled year. Thanks to the Board of Control for Cricket in India who defied all odds to carry out the world’s biggest cricket tournament with comfort and ease. Although the fans have been dished out an incredible cricketing-rendition, many found it precarious to control their rushing blood owing to a last-ball decider on several occasions. True to its recognition, the best players in the world have poured in their sweat and heart on the cricketing turf to showcase a spectacular performance for their evergreen fans. While some grab the opportunity with both hands, a lot falter to display the propensity of their talent in the cricketing arena. Taking a cue from the latter, this article attempts to deconstruct the names of those experienced or young cricketers who could not lend a voice to their bat or go ineffective with the leather in the ongoing season. So, without any further ado, let’s find it out: 1. Shane Watson Shane Watson. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The veteran Australian giant Shane Watson has got a plethora of prowess under his sleeves to flaunt around. The heavyweight all-rounder has drawn the global recognition after he hung his boots in International cricket in 2015. Due to his phenomenal exhibition with the willow, he has signed hefty deals with cricketing leagues all across the world. The driving force of Chennai Super Kings since 2018 has been in ridiculous form in the ongoing season. Unable to play his role to perfection, Watson could only amass 299 runs in 11 outings at an ordinary average of 29.90 dampening the spirits of CSK fans. Moreover, his string of abysmal performances forced CSK skipper, MS Dhoni, to make him warm benches for a couple of matches. Taking onus of his poor run for the Daddies army, Watson decided to draw curtains in the franchise cricket after the end of the final match against Kings XI Punjab. Subsequently, the usual-top order decimator features in this pool of underachievers in the 13th IPL. 2. Prithvi Shaw Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) A batsman from the Bombay school of cricket, Prithvi Shaw has shown the ability to perform in crucial games. Captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team, Prithvi was retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of the IPL 2020. The flamboyant top-order young gun has shown glimpses of his potential plenty of times. The right-hander is currently drawing a myriad of the spotlight for his not-up-to-the-mark performances for the Iyer-led side. Irked by his bemoaning statistics in the current league stage, Prithvi apparently seems to be under pressure from all sides. Scoring meagre 228 runs in 13 appearances at an average of 17.53, the budding talent has been unable to cement the right start for the Capitals incessantly. Albeit, Delhi Capitals qualified for the playoffs comprehensively, Shaw remained under the scanner for his poor run in the league stage. Eventually, it comes as no surprise that the 21-year-old finds his name in the unwanted list. 3. Karun Nair Karun Nair. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Karnataka-based batsman Karun Nair plied his trade for Kings XI Punjab in the United Arab Emirates. The typical orthodox batsman with class written all over his name could not live up to the billing this time around. The Indian capped cricketer has all kinds of nukes under his belt to annihilate the tearaway speedsters on his day. Struggling to upkeep his potential, the batsman has failed to put up a clinical show for the Punjab outfit. Managed to score only 16 runs out of 4 opportunities, he has proven to be one of the biggest upsets of the 13th edition. Positioned at the top-order, the 29-year-old could not add runs for the team which resulted in frequent loses due to low target on the scoreboard. Therefore, not to anyone’s surprise, Karun ticks all boxes to be a part of this low-key list of underperformers in the league stage of the IPL. However, Karun is expected to come strongly in the upcoming season which the premier batsman is known for. 4. MS Dhoni (C & WK) MS Dhoni of CSK. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Indian cricket stalwart MS Dhoni brought down the curtains of his International career prior to the start of the season. He has been serving the duties for Chennai Super Kings ever since the inception of the IPL in 2008. The sudden retirement sent shockwaves across the cricketing fraternity in no time. Fans remained disappointed throughout the season for him not living up to the standards. The best finisher of the world could not rise up to the occasion when the team needed the most. The legend managed to muster 200 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 116.27. The cool-mind remained lull impacting the CSK performance in the overall turn of events. For the first time in the history of the IPL, CSK could not make it to the playoffs opening floodgates of questions for the team management. Therefore, Dhoni settles in the list of flop players in the league stage of the 2020 IPL. 5. Dinesh Karthik Dinesh Karthik. (Photo Source: Disney + Hotstar VIP) The Tamil-Nadu based cricketer Dinesh Karthik has been a breath of fresh air for Kolkata Knight Riders for the past two seasons. The wicketkeeper-batsman found his relevance after his phenomenal finish against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy back in 2018. The cricketing star could not script heroics for the purple and gold outfit in the ongoing trot despite getting plenty of chances. Mounting heavy pressure on the 35-year old, Dinesh decided to throw the skipper’s hat into the ring in the middle of the season drawing eyebrows from everywhere. Racking only 169 runs for the two-time title contenders, Karthik has found it difficult to middle the ball perfectly resulting in his string of poor performance with the willow. Both KKR and Dinesh had a forgettable season. Thus, the middle-order pinch-hitter bags the spot in this black and white list posing up tough questions for him. 6. Andre Russell Andre Russell. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The Caribbean power-hitter Andre Russell is a smashing power-hitter who can create immense noise with his bat entertaining the fans to the crescendo. Hitting humungous out-of-the-park-sixes on a regular basis, he was the viewers’ delight in the last season. But unfortunately, he was unable to meet the fans’ expectations after a slew of suicidal mistakes the exhilarating batsman committed on the 22 yards. Fulfiling commitments for KKR since 2012, Russell could not perform the role assigned to him by the team management at all. The batting all-rounder could notch up only 117 runs in 9 innings at an awful average of 13. Bringing troubles for the KKR side, Russell grappled with an injury which apparently has taken a toll on his head. Making his case stronger to feature in this list, Russell breaks it into the XI squad for the first time. Without a shade of doubt, the million-dollar gentleman is just a stroke away to wear his form back in style. 7. Kedar Jadhav Kedar Jadhav. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The Pune-based cricketer Kedar Jadhav was bought by Chennai Super Kings in 2018. True to his potential, the usual match-winner has become the regular talk-of-the-town for his poor showdown in the UAE. One of the major chinks in CSK’s armour, the 35-year-old faced difficulties in finding his name in the team in the second half of the tournament owing to his not-so-standardised execution of plans. The scrupulous middle-order batsman disappointed his fans in the clash against KKR as he could not steer the team’s ship in the direction of triumph. He could only make 62 runs in 8 outings for the CSK at an unimpressive strike rate of 93.93. Making situation for the yellow outfit from bad to worse, Kedar could not find the rhythm throughout the season. Therefore, Jadhav fits perfectly in the Flop XI list. Although, the gentleman is known for making outstanding comebacks and it is believed that he will leave no stones unturned to strike his name out from this squad. 8. Sunil Narine Sunil Narine. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) The Caribbean tweaker has etched his name as one of the finest T20 openers who can blitzkrieg the opposition bowlers without any mercy. The southpaw continues to serve his duty for Kolkata Knight Riders since 2012 whole-heartedly. Bolstering the team giving crucial breakthroughs, Narine can baffle the world’s best batsman with ease and comfort. However, the West indies superstar has remained muted throughout the season in the IPL 2020. Much to his fan’s dismay, the unblemished persona has mustered only 121 runs in 10 matches. He scored at an average of 13.44. Not making his presence count, Narine had persistent bad days in the office representing Purple and gold outfit. Grabbing only 5 wickets with the ball, he cements his position strongly in the list of flop cricketers in the league stage. Therefore, Sunil will be under the scrutiny in the upcoming season. It will be exciting to see the legend whether he makes it or breaks it. 9. Kuldeep Yadav Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo: IANS) Kuldeep, a rare breed of chinaman bowlers in the modern-day, had revived the art out of its grave along with a handful of other young chinamen. The riveting bowler has much to show to the world of what he is capable of. As far as the IPL 2020 is concerned, nothing has gone in Kuldeep’s favour. The mystery bowler apparently seems to be struggling to grip his ball in conditions not-so-common to Indian cricketers. Plucking only 1 wicket for KKR outfit, the Uttar Pradesh cricket star flaunts a poor economy of 7.66. Kuldeep’s poor run in the ongoing season has become a spot of bother for team management. As a result, he can find his name in the list of flop players. However, Indian capped spinner is expected to stamp his authority in the next IPL season which is just a few months away from now. 10. Jaydev Unadkat Jaydev Unadkat. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Jaydev Unadkat has bloomed late with a strong 2017 IPL season making people take notice of his improvement. He burst into the scene as a nippy left-arm pacer who could make the ball move both ways off the seam. Of late, the speedster has been flooded with questions over his performance in the cricketing carnival. Donning the pink jersey for Rajasthan Royals, the tearaway pacer has remained thoroughly dim for Steven Smith-led side. Unadkat could manage to pluck meagre 4 wickets for the lucrative franchise. Moreover, his preposterous execution of plans against RCB in the reverse clash bounded him to warm the benches for the rest of the season. The pacer has disappointed the pink-fans to their core. Jaydev remained out-of-form throughout the tournament, as a result, he is placed in the squad. It will be exciting to witness the scalding bowler ripping apart batsmen’s wickets in the 14th edition of the IPL. 11. Dale Steyn Dale Steyn. (Photo Source: Twitter) The South-African ruthless pace attack mastermind Dale Steyn was roped in by the red and golden outfit RCB earlier in the auction. Appearing to be significantly out of form in IPL 2020, the legend is currently facing the heat from the million fans of the Virat Kohli-led side. Statistics are suggestive of his deterioration in his sheer craft. Out of the three matches for the RCB outfit, Steyn mustered only one wicket at the expense of 133 runs. Making things worse for the veteran, Dale has bowled at an economy of 11.4. The veteran not performing his roles perfectly becomes a cause of concern for the team inevitably. Therefore, he too unceremoniously makes it to the list of over-rated players in the current season. But it goes without saying that the ace pacer will bounce back strong in the days to come.

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