5 retained players who are underperforming in IPL 2023
One of the main reasons for the success of IPL giants like the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been them retaining the core of their squad over the years. Retained players are very crucial for any side that wants to do well as they are already settled in the role and have a chance to step up.
While the IPL 2023 season has seen a number of retained players do well, there have been some who haven't yet performed to the level they were expected to. This naturally has had an impact on their respective sides while they battle it out for a spot in the playoffs.
On that note, let's take a look at five such retained players who haven't hit the levels that they were expected to in the IPL 2023 season:
#5 Aiden Markram
The in-form Aiden Markram was not prepared for the LSG challenge 👀
📸: JioCinema
#CricketTwitter #IPL2023 #LSGvsSRH https://t.co/h0mKoeTN8g
Aiden Markram had an impressive debut season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), where he scored 381 runs at an average of 47.63. His leadership traits were recognized by the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and that worked wonders as he led his team to the title in the maiden SA20 League.
SRH appointed him as their captain and he was expected to take his game to the next level. However, that hasn't materialized so far. Markram has scored just 173 runs in 8 games till now in the ongoing IPL edition.
His failure to win the game for his side against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday summed up the kind of season he is having. If the Sunrisers want to have any hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, Markam needs to make major contributions in the remaining games.
#4 Sunil Narine
Arguably one of the best overseas players to play in the IPL, Sunil Narine has been an icon for KKR and a massive contributor to their success over the years. The franchise once again retained him ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, but he just hasn't been the same Narine that the league has seen before.
After picking just nine wickets in 14 games last season, Narine has picked just seven in IPL 2023 so far. The fact that he didn't complete his quota of four overs against SRH on a pitch aiding spinners speaks volumes about the drop-off in his form.
#3 Hardik Pandya
This is a name that may surprise a few people as he is fresh off a fantastic 39* (15) against Rajasthan Royals. However, Hardik Pandya hasn't had as big an impact on the Gujarat Titans (GT) this season as he would have liked.
He had picked up eight wickets and scored a staggering 487 runs in the IPL 2022 season, leading the Titans to their maiden title. However, this season, he has scored just 252 runs in nine games so far. GT will hope that Hardik peaks with both the bat and the ball with the business end of the tournament coming up.
#2 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma seems to be struggling with his form 👀
#IPL2023 #Cricket #PBKSvMI https://t.co/vyJUqYTVMG
After India's heartbreaking exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup, a number of players were under scrutiny and captain Rohit Sharma was one of the bigger names among them. He had a pretty poor tournament and many had written him off in the T20 format.
Rohit regained his form in Tests and ODIs and it seemed that he could prove his critics wrong with a strong IPL 2023 season for the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, it hasn't been anything like that as, despite scoring a half-century, Rohit Sharma has just scored 184 runs from nine games.
Although MI's batting line-up is firing on all cylinders, they need their captain to get back among the runs if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
#1 Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw has run out of favours in DC 👀
#IPL2023 #KKRvsGT #CricketTwitter https://t.co/sNsQY8brQb
Not long ago, Prithvi Shaw was scoring runs for fun in domestic cricket and was an important part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) line-up. He had even made a comeback to the Indian T20I squad. A strong IPL 2023 season was likely to help him push further for a place in the Indian XI.
However, it has been anything but that as Shaw has been dropped from the team after just six games in which he scored just 47 runs at an appalling average of 7.83. With Rishabh Pant injured and unavailable for the season, DC's hopes were in the hands of retained players like Shaw.
However, his failure is among the many reasons why DC are at the bottom of the points table. Coach Ricky Ponting also publicly criticized his inconsistency and that spoke volumes about how disappointed the DC management were with him. It will be interesting to see if he makes a comeback this IPL season.