One player from each team who majorly disappointed in IPL 2024 ft. Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan
The Indian Premier League Season 17 ended on May 26, 2024, with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning their third title by defeating SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets. The Knight Riders also became the first team to lift an IPL trophy under multiple captains.
Batting first, no SRH batter was able to score big, as they only managed to score 113 runs. In response, KKR faced no issues and won the match with 57 balls remaining, creating the record for winning any franchise T20 final with the most number of balls remaining.
In IPL 2024, fans saw marquee players like Virat Kohli, Mitchell Starc and Andre Russell stepping up for their franchise; however, there was another set of players who couldn’t perform as per their reputation this season. On that note, in this article, we will pick one player from each team who majorly disappointed in IPL 2024.
1) Kolkata Knight Riders: Rinku Singh
KKR had a dream season; they looked like the perfect team and won their third IPL title. However, one player who disappointed some was Rinku Singh. Although Rinku didn't have many opportunities because KKR played so brilliantly, he was unable to take advantage of the ones he did get.
The 22nd match against Chennai was one such occasion. KKR lost five wickets in 12 overs, and Rinku had an opportunity to make a huge score but ended up making just nine, which hampered the team's chances of scoring big. The left-handed batter only managed to score 168 runs in 14 matches and also couldn’t make it to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup.
2) SunRiders Hyderabad: Aiden Markram
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma scored heavily for the SunRisers throughout the tournament; however, their middle order had a tough time. Aiden Markram, who was tasked with helping out Heinrich Klaasen build innings and finish them in the end, struggled this season.
The Proteas batter was dropped in the latter half of the tournament; however, he made his way into the team for Qualifier 2 and the final. Markram was not able to perform, as he managed to score 21 runs in these two important matches.
The right-handed batter had a very disappointing season, scoring 220 runs in 11 games at an average of 24.4, and couldn’t perform when his team needed him the most.
3) Rajasthan Royals: Rovman Powell
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) bought Rovman Powell for INR 7.4 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. However, he didn’t impress with his performance; his first major failure came in the 50th match against SRH, when he was not able to get his team over the line after needing 13 runs in the final over. The downfall started for RR after this match, and they went winless in their last five league games.
However, Powell did finish the match for Rajasthan in the Eliminator, but he failed in Qualifier 2 when the Royals needed him to bat with Dhruv Jurel. The West Indies T20 skipper had a disappointing season; Powell only scored 103 runs in nine matches and failed to contribute much in important matches.
4) Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Glenn Maxwell
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were having a disappointing season, having won only one of their first eight matches. However, fortunes changed, and a miracle happened: Bengaluru won their last six league games and qualified for the playoffs. However, they lost the Eliminator match against the Rajasthan Royals.
In a season of ups and downs, one player who failed miserably was Glenn Maxwell. The Australian player never got going, and his first-ball duck against Rajasthan in the Eliminator match summed up his tournament. The all-rounder only scored 52 runs in 10 matches, which was one of the reasons for RCB’s failure in the initial matches of the season.
5) Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane was struggling in IPL 2024, but the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) management continued to back him, hoping he would get back to his best; however, it didn’t happen. CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs under their new captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and finished fifth in the points table.
The veteran Indian batter was one of the players who had a tough time in IPL 2024. Rahane only managed to score 242 runs in 13 matches at an average of 20.1. The CSK player didn’t have a single fifty to his name, but the Super Kings camp continued with him, which had fans asking how much trust is too much trust.
6) Delhi Capitals: David Warner
Delhi Capitals (DC) finished sixth in the points table in the IPL 2024. DC had some memorable moments with Rishabh Pant making a comeback; they got an explosive opener in the form of Jake Fraser-McGurk.
However, one player who disappointed many was David Warner. The left-handed batter scored 168 runs in eight innings at an average of 21. Warner never got going in the tournament and was eventually dropped in the second half of the tournament.
7) Lucknow Super Giants: Devdutt Padikkal
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the franchise came into being in 2022. In this disappointing campaign, one player that failed completely was Devdutt Padikkal.
The young Indian batter was traded to LSG from the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2024 season. However, things didn’t go in favor of Padikkal, as he only scored 38 runs in seven innings at an average of 5.4, making it the worst season for the left-handed batter.
8) Gujarat Titans: Rashid Khan
IPL 2023 runners-up and IPL 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans (GT) had a huge task on their hands as they were without Hardik Pandya, who was traded to the Mumbai Indians, and Mohammed Shami, who wasn’t available due to injury.
Leading GT this season was Shubman Gill, who, like LSG, failed to finish in the top 4 for the first time since 2022. Gujarat players had a tough time this season; however, one key player whose performance affected them the most was Rashid Khan.
He had to go some extra yards this season in the absence of Shami and with new bowlers coming into the ranks. However, the Afghanistan player failed to make an impact and had a disappointing season as per the standards he has set for himself. Rashid only took 10 wickets in 12 matches and conceded runs at an economy of 8.4.
9) Punjab Kings: Jitesh Sharma
It was yet another IPL season where the Punjab Kings couldn’t book their spots in the top 4. One major setback for the Kings was the injury to their captain, Shikhar Dhawan, which kept him out of action for most of the tournament.
Jitesh Sharma was one player who was expected to do well; his duty doubled in the absence of Dhawan, but he failed to make an impact. The keeper-batter had a very disappointing season, as he only managed to score 187 runs in 14 matches at an ordinary average of 17.
10) Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya
Ahead of IPL 2024, the Mumbai Indians (MI) announced the arrival of Hardik Pandya, and soon he was made the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, who had won five trophies for the franchise. This decision by the MI set-up was met with criticism, which was evident in the matches with Pandya getting booed, which affected his performance as he failed to win matches for MI in a crunch situation.
Pandya’s tactics were also criticized by experts for not playing Akash Madhwal and Nehal Wadhera in most matches. With him opening the bowling in the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, many decisions by Pandya raised eyebrows.
Hardik only managed to score 216 in 14 matches at an average of 18 and take 11 wickets in the same number of games. The Indian all-rounder had a chance to shut down his critics with his performance, but he failed to make any contribution whatsoever.