IPL 2021: Flop XI Of The 14th Season

The 14 edition of the Indian Premier League [IPL] may have ended prematurely due to multiple Covid positive cases across four different teams but it still gave us enough action during the course of the 29 matches where plenty of new stars emerged but many known faces underwhelmed with their performances.

On that note, here is a look at IPL 2021 Flop XI:

David Warner

One of the rare sights of the IPL 2021 season was the lack of runs from the juggernaut that is David Warner.

Warner, who had smashed in excess of 500 runs in his last seven seasons, endured a rare lean patch by his standards as he averaged 32 but more than the average, it was his strike rate of 110 that raised eyebrows.

His painstaking 55-ball 57 against Chennai Super Kings proved to be the final nail in the coffin for him as he was not only sacked from captaincy but also dropped from the playing 11 for the next match against Rajasthan Royals.

Virat Kohli

When Virat Kohli announced prior to the IPL that he will be opening the innings, everyone thought that we will see the Kohli of 2016 when the RCB batsman smoked four hundreds and as many as 973 runs.

But barring his unbeaten 70+ against Rajasthan Royals, Virat Kohli struggled for timing and runs in IPL 2021.

In 7 games, the RCB skipper managed a mere 198 runs at an average of 33 and an extremely low strike rate of 121.47.

Shubman Gill

A lot was expected from Shubman Gill this season given the fact that he was coming off a decent run in international cricket.

But the Punjab cricketer underwhelmed as he failed to give KKR brisk starts in the powerplay.

In 7 matches, Gill managed 132 runs at an average of 18.85 and a strike rate of 117.85, and his poor form was one of the reasons why KKR could never get an ideal platform to launch from.

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan was the talk of the town after a brilliant last season where he smashed more than 500 runs for the Mumbai Indians.

Kishan backed it up with stellar performances in domestic cricket and then finally for India where he scored a match-winning half-century on his T20I debut against England.

But, on slow and sluggish tracks of the Chepauk, it all came crashing down for the Jharkhand swashbuckler.

Kishan managed a mere 73 runs in his five outings at an average of 14.60 and a strike rate of 82.95 before being dropped from the playing 11 as MI promoted Krunal Pandya at the #4 spot.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran had come into IPL 2021 on the back of a good last season but just like Ishan Kishan, he endured a horror run before being eventually benched.

Pooran accumulated a diamond duck golden duck, silver duck, and bronze duck during the course of seven innings, managing just 28 runs at an average of 4.66 and a strike rate of 84.84.

Eoin Morgan (C)

KKR’s fortunes mirrored the fortunes of their skipper, Eoin Morgan, who once again underwhelmed at the IPL.

Barring his unbeaten match-winning 47 against Punjab Kings, Morgan failed to lit up the IPL as he managed a mere 92 runs in 7 outings at an average of 15.33 and a strike rate of 112.19.

Hardik Pandya

Just like the England T20I series, Hardik Pandya endured a poor run in IPL 2021.

And, that was one of the reasons why Mumbai Indians failed to get the desired runs at the death as they had done in the previous seasons.

In 7 matches, Pandya managed a mere 52 runs at an average of 8.66 and a strike rate of 118.18.

Jhye Richardson

Punjab Kings had broken the bank for Aussie pacer Jhye Richardson in the IPL 2021 auction but the investment did not turn out to be fruitful as the Australian pacer underwhelmed.

Richardson, who was bought for Rs 14 Crores, played just three games in which he managed just 3 wickets at an average of 39 and an economy rate of 10.63 before being eventually benched.

Kagiso Rabada

The South African pacer won the coveted Purple Cap in IPL 2020 but he failed to repeat his exploits this season.

He didn’t take enough wicket in the powerplay or at the death and proved to be extremely expensive.

In 7 matches, Rabada claimed 8 wickets at an average of 28.50 but at an extremely poor economy rate of 8.76.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal’s poor form continued in the IPL as the leg-spinner failed to pick up enough wickets besides being expensive.

Chahal, who was dropped from the Indian side following poor performances against England in the T20I series, managed a mere 4 wickets in seven games at an average of 47.50 and an economy rate of 8.26.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had come into IPL 2021 on the back of brilliant performances against England in what was his comeback series.

But the champion seam and swing bowler could not carry his form into the IPL as he struggled for control and rhythm.

Bhuvi managed just 3 wickets in his 5 outings at an average of 57.66 and an economy rate of 9.10 before he was once again sidelined due to injury.

Also Read: Revealed: How Rajasthan Royals??? New Recruit Chetan Sakariya Is Spending His IPL Earning