IPL 2018: A playing XI of Indians who underperformed
IPL provides an ideal platform for the best players from around the world to come and showcase their talents. Right from the young, uncapped Indian players to the overseas players, this colossal league provides an ideal platform for everyone to excel.
An IPL team's success depends largely on the performances of the local Indian players. The success of teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings has depended largely on their Indian stars. However, not all the Indian players have come up with performances that inspire their respective sides to the playoff stages.
In this article, we take a look at the IPL Indian players Flop XI of the 2018 edition.
Openers
Gautam Gambhir (Delhi Daredevils)
Gautam Gambhir's return to Delhi Daredevils after seven immensely successful years at Kolkata Knight Riders was supposed to be the homecoming of a resurgent hero. Gambhir's tenure as the skipper of KKR led to him being proclaimed as one of the best captains in the history of the tournament as he led his team to two triumphs.
Hence his return to DD gave the fans hope of finally seeing their favourite team enter the finals for the very first time. However, KKR's decision to let their inspirational skipper go has been vindicated by the season he has endured at Delhi Daredevils.
Gambhir, who is one of the leading run scorers in IPL history, looked to be back in his elements in his old team as he scored a half-century on his return to Delhi. However, after scoring a brisk 55 off 42 balls in the first game, Gauti was able to manage only 30 runs off 46 balls across 4 matches. He was badly exposed by the quality pace bowlers who had found a way to stifle him from scoring freely.
After his sixth outing, Gambhir decided to relinquish the captaincy, owing to Delhi's disappointing performances and also his own poor form. Not only did he step down from captaincy, the Delhi-lad also made way for other young Indian players in the playing XI. He did not play a single match after that as he remained on the bench, acting as a mentor to the young team and captain Shreyas Iyer.
Mayank Agarwal (Kings XI Punjab)
After a stellar domestic season in which Mayank Agarwal ended as the leading run-scorer in Ranji Trophy, there were calls for him to be called up to the Indian T20 team for the Nidahas Trophy. He wasn't called up for the team, but the selectors said that he was on their radar and more eye-catching performances would earn him a call-up to the Indian team.
Agarwal, who was bought by Kings XI Punjab along with his Karnataka teammates KL Rahul and Karun Nair was expected to have a good IPL season. However, the Karnataka lad endured a miserable IPL as he could accumulate just 120 runs across 11 innings, with the highest score of just 30. He often walked in on the back of good starts provided by openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul but failed to keep the momentum going.
Kings XI Punjab's struggles arose due to their middle-order that didn't get going throughout the tournament and Mayank Agarwal was at the forefront of their struggles. Certainly, a lot more was expected from Mayank on the back of the sparkling form he displayed in the domestic season, but Mayank's shot selection in the IPL was a major letdown.