IPL 2018 foreigners flop XI
The IPL provides a platform for the best players from around the world to come and showcase their talent.
Right from the young, uncapped Indian players to the overseas players, the colossal league provides an ideal platform for everyone to excel. The Indian Premier League is one of the most captivating and glamorous T20 leagues in the world.
With some of the best foreign players plying their trade in the league, we expect blockbuster performances from the international stars. However, a few of them have struggled to impress with their performances in the tournament this year.
In this article, we take a look at the IPL Foreigners Flop XI of the 2018 edition.
Openers
#1 D'Arcy Short
Matches:7, Runs:115, HS:44, Average:16.42, Strike Rate:116.16
D'Arcy Short took the BBL by storm at the start of the year as he ended up as the leading run-scorer with 572 runs for the finalist Hobart Hurricanes. He was destined to be a big buy at the auction this year, and Rajasthan Royals swamped in to include him in their squad for ₹4 crore. He also got his first call-up to the Australian T20I team, and he impressed with two fifties in his first 5 matches.
Short had an unfortunate start to his IPL career after his first two innings were brought to an end following the mix-ups with skipper Ajinkya Rahane. However, his fortunes never changed as he was unable to translate his BBL success into runs in the IPL. His struggles against spin become clear very quickly and teams began to use spin to stop him from scoring freely and this cost the Royals crucial runs in the Power-play overs.
Short's inclusion in the team also meant that Heinrich Klassen, the South African who had impressed during India's tour to South Africa had to sit out when he might have been the better bet to counter the challenges that the spinners posed in this tournament.
#2 Colin Munro
Matches:5 Runs:63HS:33 Average:12.60 Strike Rate:153.65
Delhi Daredevils was praised for their astute buy of Colin Munro for just ₹1.9 crore. The no.2 ranked T20I batsman in the world had been in sparkling form at the start of the year and his purchase was heralded as the 'Bargain Buy of the season'.
However, the New Zealand opener failed to set the world alight and his poor showings rubbed onto his team's poor performances this season.
Expected to provide his team with blistering starts at the top, Munro failed to replicate his international success into knocks of substance in the IPL. The Kiwi all-rounder was a massive disappointment with the bat as his shot selection was pretty poor.
This adversely affected his team as they were consigned to a bottom-place finish. He wasn't used well enough as a bowler and that resulted in him being dropped from the team for Jason Roy, who also incidentally has failed to perform this season.