The 7th edition of World T20 is done. The Cricket world has once again witnessed Australian triumph -- a team that historically has love affairs with ICC tournaments.
While we have seen big names shining in the biggest stage, underrated or less hyped players performing overcapacity, we have also seen the flip side of the coin with stars that have shone brightly, failed to spark this time around.
FE picks the underperforming XI of the tournament considering the players’ profile, expectations and performance in the tournament.
Openers: Chris Gayle and Quinton de Kock
The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle-- who was apparently playing his last ICC tournament, failed to end up on a high as he was a shadow of his former self.
Arguably the best batsman in the T20s, the southpaw signed off the campaign by scoring only 45 runs from 5 matches at an average of 9.
Protea opener Quinton de Kock also had a tournament to forget scoring 69 runs in the tournament averaging just above 17.
He was also part of an off-field controversy over refusing to take the knee as part of an anti-racism gesture.
Top-Middle Order: Shakib, Maxwell, Pollard
Despite toying with the minnows in the first round Shakib Al Hasan failed miserably against the top teams at the Super 12 stage. He scored 10, 4 and 9 runs in the three games he played, picking up only two wickets.
Glenn Maxwell came into the tournament on the back of some exceptional performances in IPL 2021. However, he looked like a completely different batsman in the flagship ICC event. In 5 matches, he scored only 29 runs in the Super 12 stage at an average of 9.67. Although he played an unbeaten 28 runs knock in the Final against New Zealand to see his team over the line, he is still an underperformer.
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard dragged his poor form in the world cup, scoring just 90 runs in 5 games. Under his captaincy, the defending champions won just one game against Bangladesh in this tournament.
Lower Middle-order/ All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Andre Russel and Dwayne Bravo
Hardik Pandya is all set to be dropped for the upcoming New Zealand series after his poor show led to India’s downfall at the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE.
Despite scoring 35 runs in just 13 balls against Afghanistan, he failed to shine as an all-rounder which led the BCCI to launch an inquiry on his fitness.
As the tournament progressed, Hardik’s fitness looked dicey with he not bowling at all in the opener against Pakistan.
Muscular all-rounder Andre Russell also failed to produce anything substantial for his side. He scored just 25 runs in 5 games including two ducks, averaging just 6.25.
With the ball, the all-rounder picked only three wickets from four games.
Another Caribbean veteran, Dwayne Bravo failed to perform like the champion he is at the flagship event, in what could be his last world cup just like Gayle.
He could only pick 2 wickets with the ball in the entire Super 12 stage and score 26 runs.
Bowlers: Hasan Ali, Mustafizur Rahman and Varun Chakravarthy
Among the ruthless Pakistan pace attack, Hasan Ali was probably the weakest link bagging 5 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 32.60.
Adding to his misery, the 27-year-old dropped the catch of the Aussie wicket-keeper Matthew Wade’ who then went on to slam three sixes off Shaheen Shah Afridi crushing Pakistans’ dream of another T20 WC final.
Bangladeshi stalwart Mustafizur Rahman had a forgettable super 12 too as he took 2 wickets in 5 games with an expensive economy.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s spin in ICC T20 World Cup barely had any mystery in it. Despite bowling with a decent economy, he failed to grab a single wicket in the three games he played.
