IPL 2021: 3 international captains who flopped in the IPL
One of the biggest selling points of the IPL has been the number of international stars making themselves available and enthralling the audience with their talent. Such is the reach and frenzy of the IPL that almost all the big names around the cricketing circuit want to be associated with the league.
In many ways, the IPL is a melting pot of traditions, cultures, and cricketing skills and over the years, the Indian audience has embraced overseas players as one of their own.
However, there have been players - international captains, to be specific - who came into the IPL with high expectations, but never could justify their billing.
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More often than not, these international captains have been marquee players for different franchises, but their mediocre run has forced them to be axed or released.
We take a look at the 3 high-profile international captains who have flopped in the IPL:
1.) Aaron Finch
The current captain of the Australian limited-overs team, Aaron Finch, has played for as many as eight sides in the IPL. However, he has not been able to nail down his spot in any of the franchises and has never been able to have a fruitful stay in any one of the sides.
In 85 innings in the IPL, Finch has scored 2005 runs at an average of 25.38 with a strike rate of 127.71. Despite being a good player of spin bowling, Finch has generally struggled on sluggish surfaces in India and his last stint in the IPL came for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Finch will lead Australia in the T20 World Cup slated to be held after the IPL. It is a real shame that the right-hander has not been able to have a stellar career in the cash-rich league.
2.) Angelo Mathews
Angelo Mathews has had a number of different chances to prove his mettle in the IPL and has attracted reasonably large bids at multiple auctions. He has played for the Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India, but has never been able to nail down his spot.
In 42 innings, Mathews has scored 724 runs at an average of 23.35 and a strike rate of 125.91. With the ball, he has been able to pick up 27 wickets in 44 innings at an average of 39.96 and an economy rate of 8.18.
Despite being an incredibly talented and adept cricketer, Mathews could never quite click in the IPL.
3.) Darren Sammy
Darren Sammy, the captain who led West Indies to two T20 World Cup titles, could never translate his international form in the IPL.
Sammy appeared in the IPL for the first time in 2013 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and went on to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab as well.
He was also made captain of the SRH franchise, but his numbers could never quite stack up. Sammy managed to score just 241 runs and pick up 11 wickets with the ball in the 22 games he played in the IPL.
For such a solid player in this format, Sammy's failures in the IPL are quite puzzling.
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