IPL 2020: 4 proven match-winners whose performances have declined of late
The Indian Premier League is an annual affair since 2008 and over a thousand cricketers from all over the globe have featured in the tournament. Cricket is a game of form and the players' performance does rise and fall over the years. The ones at their peak do have bad days later and can't remain match-winners forever. Some examples like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Shaun Marsh, Pragyan Ojha, Mohit Sharma, and many more who were once match-winners saw a dip in their numbers and ultimately lost their spot in the respective teams.
Let us have a look at 4 cricketers who have lost their shine in the past couple of years.
#4 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar started his IPL career for Pune Warriors India back in 2011 and impressed everyone with his economical bowling. He even broke into the Indian Cricket Team in 2012 and started his international career on a high note against Pakistan, displaying his skills with the new ball by swinging it both ways with great control.
Since joining the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Meerut-born seamer took his IPL career to the next level and tasted a lot of success. The 29-year-old won the purple cap for two back to back seasons (2016 and 2017) and even helped SRH clinch their maiden IPL title in 2016. In a career of 117 matches, Bhuvi has scalped 133 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.24 and is the most successful Indian fast bowler in the history of the tournament.
But since the past couple of seasons, SRH's bowling spearhead lost his sharpness, both with the new ball as well as at the death and his wicket-taking ability has dried up. He has been able to pick only 23 wickets from 27 IPL games since 2018 with a poor strike rate of 29 compared to his career number of 19.
Note: All statistics as of January 26, 2020