T20 World Cup 2022: 3 big stars who didn't live up to expectations
Thee Men's T20 World Cup 2022 drew to a close when England beat Pakistan by five wickets to clinch their second T20I title at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday (November 13).
Courtesy of terrific all-round bowling and a valiant knock by Ben Stokes (52* off 49), the Jos Buttler-led unit managed to overcome the threat of a rejuvenated Pakistan side. England are now only the second nation after the West Indies to have won the T20 World Cup more than once.
English football captain Harry Kane congratulated the England cricket team for winning the T20 World Cup 🏆
#CricketTwitter #t20worldcup #england https://t.co/B8WfNnOshO
The T20 World Cup 2022, which started four weeks ago, saw close contests among all the teams trying to outperform themselves from their previous appearances.
Both the seasoned players and the young ones did well to put on creditable performances to the delight of the crowd. Some players, meanwhile, despite having a wealth of experience and talent, missed their chances to make a difference for their respective teams and capitalize on the situation at hand.
On that note, here are the top three biggest players who had a poor campaign and failed to live up to expectations at the T20 World Cup 2022.
#3 Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
Given the tournament was played in Australia, where pitches offered extra help for fast bowlers, Kagiso Rabada was expected to shine and deliver the goods with his skiddy bowling for South Africa.
Unfortunately, for the Proteas, Rabada managed to pick up just a couple of wickets in the five games he played at the T20 World Cup 2022. More than his lack of taking wickets, it was Rabada's composure and handling of pressure which went missing in the campaign.
It was a tournament to forget for Kagiso Rabada
With some time off, he'll be back to his best!
#T20WorldCup https://t.co/j4IS00S9so
In a Super 12 fixture against India, where all the other Protea pacers breathed fire on the bouncy Perth surface, Rabada returned wicketless. While his fellow pacer, Anrich Nortje, had a terrific campaign, claiming 11 scalps in five games, Rabada had an alarming average of more than 75 and an economy of 9.4 in the tournament.
#2 Rohit Sharma (India)
Even prior to the World Cup, Rohit Sharma endured a tough phase both as a batter and skipper. While India won their T20 bilaterals against Australia and South Africa, the Men in Blue failed to even seal their place in the 2022 Asia Cup finals.
Now, things have gone from bad to worse for the Indian skipper following India's humbling defeat to eventual champions England in the semi-finals. While Rohit's captaincy decisions drew a lot of flak from the fans throughout the tournament, his batting performances left a lot to be desired as well.
India's top three with the bat in men's T20Is in 2022:
Rohit Sharma - 656 runs @ 24.29 and SR - 134.42
KL Rahul - 434 runs @ 28.93 and SR - 126.53
Virat Kohli - 781 runs @ 55.93 and SR - 138.23
#ViratKohli #RohitSharma #KLRahul #India #T20WorldCup https://t.co/ZGePTrlGvx
Rohit struggled to get his timing right and even looked uneasy playing against quality bowlers in the competition. Due to his jittery displays, the experienced batter could only amass 116 runs at a poor average of under 20 and a horrible strike rate of 106.4 in six games.
While Rohit notched up a half-century against the Netherlands, his innings looked scratchy and was far from a convincing one.
#1 David Warner (Australia)
David Warner, the hero of last year's T20 World Cup, looked far from his best at this year's event, which was certainly one of the reasons for Australia’s early exit.
Warner is one of the most destructive openers in the world. Given that the tournament was taking place Down Under, there was a significant chance that he could have turned out to be the Aussies' most important player.
David Warner’s disappointing T20 World Cup 2022 campaign continues 😕
#ausvsl #t20worldcup #cricket https://t.co/MdyrwfrzPz
However, due to his substandard performances, the southpaw emerged as a major disappointment. As an opener, he is adept at delivering incredible starts to the team with his opening partner and Aussie skipper Aaron Finch, but this time, he struggled to find himself among the runs.
In the four Super 12 games he played, Warner mustered a mere 44 runs at an average of 11 and a strike rate of 107.3. Apart from his lack of runs, it was Warner's manner of dismissals that took most of his fans by surprise. He began his campaign with a freakish dismissal against New Zealand before having a 'brain-fade' moment against Afghanistan.