The flop XI of T20 WC 2021

The seventh edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup has come to an end. There were a lot of great individual performances in the tournament. Some of the players found great form in the World Cup while a lot of them failed to live up to their reputation. 

The Business Standard (TBS) picked eleven players who came into the World Cup with great reputation and form but couldn't find enough success.

Quinton de Kock (69 runs, Average: 17.25, SR: 107.81)

Quinton de Kock is one of the best powerplay maximisers going around currently and South Africa relied heavily on him to provide them good starts. But he couldn't do that. De Kock missed a game citing personal reasons. He came back in the next match but his form with the bat didn't improve. He scored just 69 runs in four innings with the highest score of 34 and his strike rate wasn't high either. 

Liton Das (133 runs, Average: 16.62, SR: 94.32)

Liton Das had a huge responsibility on his shoulders especially in the absence of the experienced Tamim Iqbal. But the right-hander failed miserably at the top of the order which prompted the management to have him bat at number three. He played a decent knock there but couldn't finish the game. Liton scored just 133 runs in eight innings in the tournament and his strike rate was under 100.

Chris Gayle (45 runs, Average: 9.00, SR: 91.83)

This tournament was the last major ICC event featuring Chris Gayle, arguably the greatest T20 cricketer of all-time. But the Jamaican batter couldn't get going in any of the matches. He batted at number three, opened the innings but found success nowhere. He remained a pale shadow of himself throughout the tournament. Gayle faced 49 balls in five innings and couldn't even go run-a-ball. His highest score in the tournament was 15. 

Avishka Fernando (52 runs, Average: 10.40, SR: 83.87)

Despite getting a fair amount of success in ODIs, the T20 format still remains a difficult one for Avishka Fernando. Fernando batted in the middle order for Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup and struggled big time to score runs. In seven innings in the tournament, the right-handed batter scored just 52 runs - one of them being 30 not out - at an average of 10.40. His strike rate wasn't that great either and he failed to back the great starts provided by promising top-order up in the World Cup.

Afif Hossain (54 runs, Average: 7.71, SR: 108.00)

Afif Hossain was one of the form players coming into the World Cup and a lot was expected from him. Afif was in decent form in the two home series before the World Cup but couldn't absorb the pressure of the big stage. The southpaw scored only 54 runs in eight innings in the tournament at an average of 7.71. His highest score in the tournament was 21. Bangladesh's batting failed big time in the World Cup and that was the prime reason behind their failure in the Super 12s.

Andre Russell (25 runs, Average: 6.25, Economy: 9.22)

Andre Russell is one of the most ferocious hitters of the cricket ball right now but he couldn't live up to the expectations in the World Cup. He scored only 25 runs in five innings and 18 came in the West Indies' last game against Australia. He looked out of sorts and not a hundred percent fit. He took three wickets in the tournament but his economy rate was on the higher side. Russell was one of the biggest flops in the World Cup and his abysmal performance hurt the West Indies badly.

Kieron Pollard (90 runs, SR: 107.14, 0 wickets)

Kieron Pollard, the West Indies white-ball skipper, wasn't at his best either in the World Cup. 90 runs in five innings at a very low strike rate of 107.14 was very uncharacteristic of a big hitter like Pollard. Apart from the West Indies' final match against Australia, Pollard struggled big time to clear boundaries. He couldn't pick up a single wicket with his slow medium bowling as well. He will be the captain of this XI.

Mohammed Shami (6 wickets, Economy rate: 8.84)

Mohammed Shami is one of India's finest bowlers in Tests and ODIs but in the shortest format, he has underperformed of late. In the World Cup, he went for runs which is evident from his economy rate (8.84). He picked up six wickets in the tournament and three of them came against Afghanistan. India certainly wanted to see him do better in the World Cup and the collective failure of the batting and bowling unit showed them the exit door.

Mustafizur Rahman (8 wickets, Economy rate: 9.25)

Mustafizur Rahman was in good form leading up to the World Cup and was expected to lead Bangladesh's pace attack from the front on pitches that would suit his type of bowling. But much to the disappointment of Bangladesh fans, Mustafizur lost his rhythm and couldn't trouble the batters at all. He went for runs in all three phases of the innings and that prompted Bangladesh to drop him in one of the matches. Mustafizur picked up eight wickets in seven matches but his economy rate was very high.

Varun Chakaravarthy (0 wickets, Economy rate: 6.45)

Varun Chakaravarthy had two stellar IPL seasons for Kolkata Knight Riders and many expected him to be the X-Factor for India in the World Cup. But the off-spinner couldn't create enough pressure on the batters as they played him out quite comfortably. Chakaravarthy went wicketless in three matches and then was benched in the next two matches. 

Dushmantha Chameera (7 wickets, Economy rate: 8.32)

Dushmantha Chameera is one of the paciest bowlers right now and was in good form before the World Cup. But the right-arm quick couldn't quite get things right on the big stage. In eight matches, Chameera took seven wickets but his economy rate was a bit high - 8.32. Sri Lanka delivered quite a few good performances with the bat but they lacked fire with the ball.