IPL 2023: Worst Playing 11 of League stages: The Indian Premier League season 16 saw many star names disappoint in the league stages. Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad were among the worst-performing teams with several star names failing to click.
The list notably includes many star names as MyKhel selects playing 11 of such star performers who fail to show up at the cash-rich league, whose league stages folded last week with 70 games played across 50 days.
Prithvi Shaw entered the IPL 2023 amid high expectations as the Mumbai batter scored plenty of runs in the domestic season. However, stiff competition for opening spots in the Indian team meant Shaw was expected to prove his case in the IPL. The right-handed batter flopped another season with just 106 runs across 8 innings.
Delhi Capitals yearned for a good start throughout the season and eventually finished ninth in the league stages after losing their first five games of the season. Shaw finally got some runs from his bat as he scored 54 against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala last week.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Mayank Agarwal with a lot of expectations as the franchise splashed Rs 8.25 crore at the IPL auction earlier this year. However, the batter had only one good innings to show in the season in 83, which came as late as SRH’s last match of the season for a losing cause against Mumbai Indians.
The batter aggregated just 270 runs in the season across 10 games and was eventually dropped from the playing 11 as he struggled to provide a good start. Mayank did score two more 40-odd innings, however, his strike rate remained questionable as the batter wasn’t in his usual flow.
Deepak Hooda was among the biggest disappointment of the season after the batter break into the national team last year. The Lucknow Super Giants player turned out to be a liability for his franchise with just 69 runs in 11 games while averaging just 6.9.
LSG management gave Hooda enough chances despite the poor show in the season but the batter couldn’t revive his season despite the change in batting order to his usual no. 3.
At the fag end of his career, 37-year-old Ambati Rayudu has been the weakest link in an in-form Chennai Super Kings batting order and could have lost his place in the playing 11 if not for MS Dhoni’s backing. The middle-order batter, often used as an impact substitute, scored 122 runs in the season at an average of 15.25.
Riyan Parag was expected to be the star presence as Rajasthan Royals decided to play their initial home matches at the young batter’s hometown Guwahati. The 21-year-old batter instead was a no show in the season with just 78 runs in the season in seven games at an average of 13.
Dinesh Karthik was expected to be a key member of Royal Challengers Bangalore after their middle-order was weakened with season-ending injury to Rajat Patidar. The wicketkeeper-batter cut a sorry figure with just 140 runs to his name 13 games while averaging just 11.67 in the season while RCB failed to make the cut for the playoffs.
Fetching a record-breaking Rs 18.5 crore at the IPL auction, Sam Curran was expected to be the match-winner Punjab Kings often lacked in the past. The reigning T20 World Cup champion, who was also the man of the series and man of the match in the final, couldn’t do justice to his hefty pricetag.
Expected to be an important death-over bowler, Curran’s yorker, often his strength, seldom landed at the right place while he proved too expensive at an economy of 10.22. The left-armer took just 10 wickets in 14 games. He did get some runs from the bat with a half-century while aggregating 276 runs.
For somebody who plays for the Indian team and found his place in the national squad due to his IPL credentials, Washington Sundar was a disappointment before injury curtailed his season halfway through the season. The right-arm off-spinner took just three wickets in seven games while managing just 60 runs at an average of 15 runs.
Finishing last season with 21 wickets, Kuldeep Yadav was expected to be Delhi Capitals’ star performer with the ball again. The Chinaman, however, took just 10 wickets this season despite Delhi’s Aruj Jaitley Stadium pitch being expected to be conducive for slow bowlers.
Jofra Archer was expected to be the strike bowler of Mumbai Indians in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. The English express pacer struggled with injury himself and was never at his best as he took just two wickets before being dropped from the line-up after just five games. Archer conceded runs at an economy rate of 9-plus in the season.
Umran Malik’s story was no different from Archer’s as far as the economy rate was concerned with the fastest Indian pacer giving away runs at 10.85. His expensive overs led to him bowling just 20 overs and five wickets in the IPL before losing his place in the playing 11.
35-year-old Umesh Yadav’s performance in the IPL 2023 proved that his best days are behind him as the experienced Indian pacer took just one wicket for Kolkata Knight Riders in eight games and eventually lost his place to young names like Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora in the squad.
Worst Playing 11: Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda, Ambati Rayudu, Riyan Parag, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sam Curran, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jofra Archer, Umran Malik, Umesh Yadav