Flop XI of the first half of IPL 2019
The thrilling glamour of IPL is enrolling all the stirring vibes over the world. It was all started with the low-scoring clash between RCB and CSK, which was comfortably prevailed by the men from Chennai. It was a great kick-start to the season. Right now, teams like CSK, KKR, MI and, KXIP are sitting on the top half of the table and, SRH and DC also fighting it hard in the league to qualify for the playoffs. But the boys from Rajasthan and Bangalore are in a really miserable situation, who haven't been able to express themselves and are at the foot of the table.
Now, we are entering into the business end of the season and every game from here on will be deciding the fate of the team. Interpreting individually, every player wants to raise their numbers as high as they can, wants to win matches for their team and to grab the opportunities as they come towards them. We have seen many beautiful knocks by the batsmen and match-winning spells by the bowlers. Some players are peaking at the right time but some are finding it hard to manifest their mettle in the tournament. We have made a playing XI out of them. The criteria are that they should have played 3 matches or more. So, let us look at the players who are far from their purple patches and have really flopped thus far this season.
Openers
#1 Ambati Rayudu - CSK
The batting form of Ambati Rayudu is causing a massive concern both in the Indian cricket circles as well as the CSK camp. This year hasn’t been fruitful for the batsman from Hyderabad and he seems to be struggling to get runs. It was thought that he would end Team India’s number four conundrum for the World Cup 2019.
However, the way he is playing at the moment is raising a lot of questions. Rayudu hasn’t been able to time the ball well which is otherwise one of his biggest strengths. He isn’t able to find the gaps either and this is leading to him subjecting himself to a lot of pressure. He is averaging 22 in the competition with a below-par strike rate of 89.26.
Some pundits are even ruling him out of the World Cup squad for his poor run of form lately. He did score some runs against RR in Jaipur but the knock was an itchy one.
#2 Moeen Ali - RCB
This has been a forgetful season for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Collectively, the whole team hasn't been able to apply themselves and there hasn't been any quality performance from the bunch. The overseas department of the team has disappointed largely.
One of the players for the same is Moeen Ali. The Englishman was retained this year by the franchise. This season he has an average of only 18 with the bat and has scored only 74 runs in all 6 matches that he has played. He is not offering anything different with the ball too, with only taking 2 wickets so far this season by the off-spinner and averaging 48.50 with the ball.