5 unexpected Flops of VIVO Indian Premier League 2016
Every year in the VIVO Indian Premier League, there turn out to be some players who, against the expectations, fail to perform. The reasons may be known or unknown. This year, too, I have shortlisted 5 players who have failed to justify their selection in the team, failed to deliver the goods and some have failed to justify their price tags. Have a look at them!
Deepak Hooda came in with a reputation of being a hard hitter of the cricket ball. Not only has he failed to do that, he also failed to capitalise in absence of Yuvraj Singh in the middle order. Deepak Hooda became one of those players who lost their fizz a bit too early.
Hardik Pandya came in into the tournament as India’s new found talent. He had a good Tour of Australia, followed by the ASIA Cup and World T20. However, he has delivered neither with the bat nor with the ball. Yes, he was asked to bat at 3 in several matches, but since then, he has not scored runs even at 5. A lot rides on him if MI are to defend their title.
James Faulkner is one of the best All-Rounders in the business today. Yet, he finds himself in a position, rather a team, which is full of more capable All-Rounders. The man that you see beside him is inarguably the best All-Rounder when it comes to IPL. Faulkner has failed to live up to the reputation that he has built in the last 3 years for the Rajasthan Royals, partly due to the fact that he has become a bit predictable in his bowling and partly due to the fact that he bats lower down the order than his liking.
No one expected Pawan Negi to go for ₹8.5 crore in the auction. But, when Delhi Daredevils bought him for that amount, everyone assumed that Negi would in the thick scheme of things for the franchisee. Cut to 3 months later, he has scored just 32 runs in 5 outings along with 0 wickets. In retrospect , DD would probably not have bought him, at least for that amount. Coming into this season, one would have expected that he’ll be confident, specially after making his debut for India. But, he surprised one and all by failing to deliver on several occasions. Also, the way Delhi use him as a player makes you question his position in the side. I mean, how often does your All-Rounder bowl just 5 overs in 5 matches!
How often do you see Ravichandran Ashwin failing under the captaincy of M S Dhoni for more than 5 matches? Well, the inevitable has happened. Ashwin has just 3 wickets to his name this season so far, which means that Dhoni cannot rely on him for wickets. This has led to a poor performance of the bowling unit of RPS. Failures of none of the other 4 players in this list has had a negative impact on their respective teams as much as Ashwin’s failure has had on Pune. Maybe the pitches aren’t suiting his style of bowling or maybe he is not in a right mindset or maybe he is missing CSK. Regardless of that, for me, Ashwin has been the biggest surprising flop this season. I have no doubts, though, that he will bounce back. The question is “When?”
