As the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup veers towards an end, we can now retrospect in terms of the performance of the star players in the tournament. While most of the big names have played well in the ongoing T20 World Cup, a few have failed noticeably.
Their performances have let their teams down and, in some cases, have led to their team’s exit from the tournament. On this note, we are going to take a look at the list
#1 David Warner (Australia)
Warner was supposed to do well in the tournament but failed miserably, much to the dismay of the Australian side. He totaled only 44 runs in this World Cup and remained one of the major under-performers of the tournament.
To make matters worse, it is Warner’s tendency to be dismissed by relatively innocuous deliveries that surprised a lot of people. The 36-year-old opener got dismissed while playing a lofted cover drive off a delivery that did not turn against Sri Lanka and fell while playing a switch hit against Afghanistan.
Given Warner’s experience and stature, the Australian teams and supporters expected a much better performance. Moreover, at his age, he is not likely to play a prominent role for Australia in the shortest format of the game for too long. It will not come as a surprise if it turns out to be his last T20 World Cup.
#2 Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Babar has one more match to play and can still take his batting numbers to a slightly more respectable position. However, his total of 14 runs in four innings is disappointing, to say the least. Babar has failed against the moving deliveries under challenging conditions and, to pile on his misery, was run out in Pakistan’s one-run loss to Zimbabwe.
His opening partner Mohammad Rizwan did not have a great tournament, but his numbers are much better than his skipper’s. Should Pakistan fail to reach the semifinal – the chances of which are incredibly high- Babar will not be able to escape scathing criticism for the dismal performance of his team and himself. It was indeed shocking to see one of the most successful batters in T20 cricket having a failure of such epic proportions.
#3 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
It is pretty apparent now that Starc tries to bowl a bit too fast for his own good in the shortest format. The batters, equipped with powerful bats, often use his extra pace to score runs freely. In addition, Starc also tends to bowl a bit too full, and as the older ball stops to swing, it becomes easier for the batters to play their strokes.
Starc got a couple of wickets with Yorkers against Ireland, but his overall return of three wickets does not justify his stature as one of the leading pacers in world cricket. He had to be dropped in the match against Afghanistan, and with Pat Cummins only faring marginally better in the tournament, Australia was often found lacking in terms of their performance with the ball.
