The ongoing eleventh season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) has been full of action and top class cricketing action. Right from its first week, we have seen highly competitive cricket played between top 8 T20 franchises comprising of some of the best players from the world and exciting young talent.
IPL is a delightful blend of legends and raw talent. Over the years, we have seen young talent from India and across the world share the dressing room with the best in the world and push selectors for a spot in their national teams. And, this, in our view, is IPL’s biggest contribution to the game of cricket.
However, in this article, we have listed 11 players who have not done as per the expectations and formed our ‘Flop XI of IPL 2018’. Let’s have a look.
1) Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir stepped down mid way through the tournament after Delhi Daredevils’ poor show in the first matches. He also dropped himself from the playing XI as his personal form was poor, too. Gambhir played first 6 matches and scored just 85 runs at an average of 17.00 and strike rate of 96.59.
2) Collin Munro
Another Delhi Daredevils opener finds a place in our ‘Flop XI of IPL 2018’. Munro, who is regarded as one of the best T20 batsman in New Zealand, has failed to make an impact in IPL 2018. In 5 matches, he has managed to score just 63 runs at an average of 12,60.
3) Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey is one of the most exciting young batters in India but he is having a horrible IPL 2018. In 10 matches, so far, Manish has scored just 184 runs at an average of 23.00. We expect much more from a class batsman like Manish Pandey.
4) Yuvraj Singh
The dashing left-hander returned to his own state Punjab in IPL 2018 but he is horribly out of touch and has been made to sit on the bench by Kings XI Punjab. Yuvraj has played 7 matches in IPL 2018 and scored just 64 runs at an average of 12.80.
5) Ben Stokes
The swashbuckling all-rounder from England is completely out of touch in IPL 2018 and he has not been able to contribute much towards his team Rajasthan Royals’ cause. Stokes has played 10 matches so far and scored just 174 runs at an average of 17.40. In the bowling department, he has picked just 3 wickets.
6) Kieron Pollard
The big all-rounder from West Indies, Kieron Pollard, is one of the senior most members of Mumbai Indians but he has been made to sit on the bench for his poor show. He has played 7 matches in IPL 2018 and scored just 76 runs at an average of 15.60.
7) Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper)
Wriddhiman Saha has not made an impact in IPL 2018 and many fans are questioning his skills in limited overs cricket, on social media. In 10 matches, he has managed to score just 87 runs at an average of 12.42.
8) Washington Sundar
Fans had high hopes from Washington Sundar after his good show in last year’s IPL and also in the limited opportunities that he had got for Team India, but he has failed to live up to the expectations. He has taken just 4 awickets at an average of 48.00 and conceded 192 runs.
9) Vinay Kumar
Vinay Kumar played just 2 matches for KKR and was dropped because of his very poor show with the ball. He conceded 65 runs in 2 matches at an economy of 16.95.
10) Mohammed Shami
A lot has happened in Mohammed Shami’s life in the last few week but all the action has been off field. In IPL 2018, playing for Delhi Daredevils, Mohammed Shami has picked just 3 wickets in the first 4 matches at an economy of 10.40 and as a result, he was dropped from the playing XI.
11) Mitchell Johnson
The Aussie speedster has been a huge disappointment for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In 6 matches, he has picked just 2 wickets at an economy of 10.28.
