As the stage is set for the final IPL match against Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium, let us take a look at the players who have given disappointing performances this season
The twelfth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2019) has reached its final stage, and we are now waiting to see which team will lift the trophy. It was, as always, a power-packed season of T20 cricket and we witnessed some brilliant individual and team performances.
However, there were a few cricketers who struggled in most of the matches and didn't make an impact that their teammates and fans were expecting. Let's have a look at the most disappointing player from each team.
The Mumbai side ended the league stage on top of the points table and became the first team to reach the finals by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the semi-finals. As a team, Mumbai Indians have performed very well as individuals have stepped up at crucial times and done the job for the team. However, if we have to name an individual who didn't live up to expectations – it would be Mayank Markande. The young leg-spinner who impressed everybody in the last season of IPL and took 15 wickets, played just three matches this IPL and took only one wicket. His economy in the three matches he played was almost 10 runs per over. On the other hand, Rahul Chahar outperformed Markande with his consistent performances and became the first choice leg-spinner for Mumbai Indians.
Kedar Jadhav played 14 matches for Chennai Super Kings before getting injured and scored 162 runs at an average of 18.00. Jadhav looked out of form and couldn't contribute much with the bat. He struggled to get going in almost every match and scored runs at a below average strike rate of 95.85. Interestingly, Jadhav did not bowl even a single delivery in IPL 2019.
Delhi Capitals have been one of the strongest teams in IPL 2019. Delhi's young squad, coached by Ricky Pointing and mentored by Sourav Ganguly, played as a unit and surprised their oppositions with top-quality performances throughout the season. However, if we have to name the player who failed to make an impact, we would have to pick Colin Ingram. In the 11 games, he has played this season; he has only managed to score 172 runs at an average of 19.11. He moved up and down the batting order but never really got going.
Andrew Tye was the best bowler for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2018. He picked 24 wickets at an average of 18.66. But in IPL 2019 he played six matches and took just three wickets. He was totally out of form and even captain Ravichandran Ashwin pointed it out in the post-match conference after KXIP's last match of the season.
"In hindsight, bowlers go through such phases. AJ [Tye] had a fantastic IPL last year, but it's also about batsmen coming after him in different methods. He has tried hard. It's not lack of efforts that he's not been very good this year. But I'm sure he will get better as a cricketer, he's quite a smart cricketer, he tries to give everything on the field. These sort of phases are quite common in a cricket career, but I'm sure he will learn from this," Ashwin said.
Kuldeep Yadav is one of the most exciting young cricketers in the world. But the 'chinaman' spinner was entirely out of form this season. As compared to his 17 wickets (16 matches) in IPL 2018, Kuldeep managed to take just four wickets (9 matches). As a result, he was dropped from the squad, and now Indian cricket fans are hoping that the 'IPL 2019 horror' will not impact his confidence and performance in the upcoming ICC World Cup.
Rajasthan Royals paid Rs 8.4 crore for the tall fast bowler in the IPL 2019 auction. Unadkat played 11 matches for Royals in IPL 2019, and each one was a disappointing performance. He took 10 wickets and gave away runs at an economy of 10.66.
Yusuf Pathan was one of the biggest disappointments, not just for SRH but also for the tournament as a whole. It is now clearly visible that his days of hitting big sixes and finishing games for his side are far behind and he finds it challenging to slog away against quality bowlers. SRH picked him for 10 matches in IPL 2019, but he failed in almost every one. Yusuf Pathan scored just 40 runs at an average of 13.33 and had a poor strike-rate of 88.88.
Umesh Yadav is a senior fast bowler in India but he, once again, disappointed RCB fans with his lack of consistency and poor bowling. Yadav took eight wickets in 11 matches at an average of 46.37, and made some blunders at crucial moments, throughout the tournament. His economy was almost 10 after bowling more than 38 overs in the entire season. After playing nine years of international cricket, RCB fans expected a much better performance from him.
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