3 captains who have been disappointing so far in the 2023 World Cup
The 2023 World Cup is approaching the halfway point of the group stage, and the points table is slowly taking shape.
Team India are at the summit of the table, with five wins in as many matches and an excellent run rate. The Men in Blue have established themselves as the team to beat in the competition, while others like New Zealand have done well as well.
At the same time, however, the bottom half of the table features some sides that haven't been able to do justice to the potential in their ranks. These teams' captains must take some of the responsibility for the same, especially those who haven't been at their best from both technical and tactical standpoints.
Here are three captains who have been disappointing so far in the 2023 World Cup.
#3 Jos Buttler - England
The defending champions of the ODI World Cup are currently placed dead last in the standings, with only one win from four matches and the worst net run rate in the competition.
England have suffered tough defeats at the hands of South Africa and Afghanistan to go with their opening-day loss to New Zealand. Their task won't get any easier this Sunday, when they face table-toppers India, before which they'll look to get two points from Sri Lanka.
Jos Buttler, the man who took over from Eoin Morgan following the famed white-ball revolution, hasn't been at his best in the World Cup. England have made a slew of changes to their playing XI, having failed to arrive at their best combination, and Buttler's decision at the toss against the Proteas was a rather amateur error.
Buttler hasn't been anywhere close to his best with the bat either. He has managed just 87 runs in four innings at an average of 21.75, leaving England without any beef in their middle order.
The skipper needs to step up in the coming games, both with the bat and with his leadership, if England are to avoid an embarrassing group-stage exit.
#2 Babar Azam - Pakistan
A man who has been criticized on end for his decision-making, Babar Azam has had a poor start to the 2023 World Cup.
Pakistan have lost three of their first five matches, and while their defeats at the hands of India and Australia were somewhat understandable, their humbling by Afghanistan was a sorry sight.
The Men in Green have been plagued by several issues - the form of their spinners, their batters' intent, their fast-bowling trio's accuracy, and their fielding, to name a few. Another major problem has been Babar's captaincy, which has often defied logic on the field.
The Pakistan skipper turned to his spinners repeatedly even though the ball was reversing around against Afghanistan, and his intent with the bat has been questionable as well. He has managed just 157 runs in five innings at an average of 31.4 and a terrible strike rate of 79.69.
It would be a surprise if Babar retains his position at the helm post the World Cup, assuming Pakistan don't find a way to turn their fortunes around and make a deep run in the tournament.
#1 Pat Cummins - Australia
Fast-bowling captains are never a great idea in cricket, and Australia's appointment of Pat Cummins seems to be unraveling despite a promising start in which it seemed like they were looking at an upturn in their leadership fortunes.
Cummins seems to be taking up a valuable spot in the playing XI, with the Aussies resorting to fielding him in tandem with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who cannot possibly be dropped, apart from at least two fast-bowling all-rounders. Without an additional spin option, they have struggled to come to terms with venues like Chepauk.
Moreover, Cummins' bowling has been distinctly sub-par. Barring his spell against Sri Lanka, which arguably turned the course of the game and fashioned an Australian win, he has been off the pace. In four matches, the fast bowler has managed just five wickets at an economy rate of 6.63 and an average touching 40.
Australia are currently fourth in the standings with two wins from four matches, but they are yet to play New Zealand and England and are currently far from their best. The Kangaroos need to get their act together and be the dominant force they usually are in World Cups. And for that, they need Cummins to come good.