Asia Cup 2018: Flop XI of the Tournament
The 14th edition of the Asia Cup is a tremendous success. Despite a crowded schedule, the players performed exceptionally well and got used to the heat conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament was an epic challenge to the fitness of the players.
Despite some one-sided contests, there were some close last-over matches in the tournament. The tie between India-Afghanistan and a nail-biting last over final between India-Bangladesh will surely stand in the mind of cricket fans for a long time.
With the tournament now completed, let us look at a lineup of players who failed hugely in the Asia Cup 2018.
Openers:
#1 Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)
Before the Asia Cup, Pakistan played a 5-match ODI series against a hapless Zimbabwe. As expected, they blew away the Zimbabwean attack by a comfortable margin of 5-0.
Fakhar Zaman was the wrecker-in-chief in that tournament. He smashed 515 runs from five innings, which includes a double century. Unfortunately, his excellent run of form halted at the biggest stage against formidable opponents.
He ended the Asia Cup with just 56 runs from five innings. He was dismissed for a duck in two of those innings. He reached the double figures only twice in the entire tournament.
#2 Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Kusal Mendis entered the Asia Cup 2018 with a string of poor performances. He managed only 86 runs in his previous five outings against South Africa. To his dismay, his lean patch continued at this year’s Asia Cup too.
In the opening match, he was dismissed for a golden duck against Bangladesh. In Sri Lanka’s final game against Afghanistan, he was dismissed for a two-ball duck. Overall, he faced only three balls in two matches without a single run.