World Cup 2019: Flop XI of the tournament
The 2019 World Cup came to a nail-biting end as England trumped New Zealand to win their maiden World Cup title at Lord's on Sunday. The final between both the sides was a cliffhanger and indeed one of the most incredible games the sport has ever witnessed.
While the tournament featured some of the most exhilarating performances from players all around the world, there were a number of quality players who failed to rise to the occasion and live up to their billing. Here, we have compiled an XI of such players so without further ado, let's dive straight in.
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#1 Martin Guptill (New Zealand)
Considering Guptill was the highest run-scorer in the last edition of the World Cup, a host of New Zealand fans had pinned their hopes on his prowess as an opener. The 32-year-old did get off to a fine start in the tournament, scoring an unbeaten 73 in the opener against Sri Lanka.
However, from there onward, it all went downhill for the Kiwi batsman. On five occasions, he even failed to make it to double figures. Often, he used up a lot of deliveries before throwing away his wicket, thus building pressure for the middle order. In 10 matches, he was only able to rack up 186 runs at a paltry average of 20.66.
#2 Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)
Fakhar Zaman's exploits in Pakistan's title-winning ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign was reassuring for the team on so many accounts. After aeons of waiting, it finally appeared that the Men in Green had a dependable presence to open the innings for them.
Fast-forward to 2019, and the doubts have re-emerged. Fakhar could only manage 186 runs in this tournament at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 81.93, quite uncharacteristic of his natural game. His highest score of 62 came against arch-rivals India where helped set up a strong partnership with Babar Azam before falling prey to Kuldeep Yadav.
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