IPL 2016 has been interesting for a wide variety of reasons. The addition of two new franchises, in Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants, the chance to see Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni play for a different franchise and the arrival of a couple of new world-class arrivals.
The tournament has also seen its fair share of hits and misses. While some players, like Sunrisers Hyderabad's Mustafizur Rahman have taken to the tournament like a duck to water, there have been other marquee players who haven't lived up to expectations.
So let us take a look at who they are. Here are 5 marquee players who haven't lived up to expectations:
Jos Buttler
After being signed for big money, Jos Buttler got the picture perfect start to his IPL career as he scored 41, which has turned out to be his highest score in the tournament so far. Unfortunately for Mumbai Indians, he hasn't been able to kick on from that impressive and instead stagnated and been unable to cross 30 even once since then in his 11 IPL matches.
When he was signed by the Mumbai Indians, there was plenty of expectation surrounding him thanks to his exploits in the past 12 months when he broke the record for the fastest ODI century by an Englishman twice. And that was only heightened after his exploits at the World T20 where he was England's second-best batsman behind Joe Root and displayed his complete array of shots.
Yet, what has been disappointing about his current performance in the IPL has been his inability to convert his starts in good scores. Playing at No.4 and No.5, a crucial position in T20s, he has been unable to capitalise on starts and has instead stagnated instead of kicking on. Although he has finished a couple of games for MI, he hasn't done what was expected of him, especially at No.4.
James Faulkner
When you move franchises and are regarded as one of the finest all-rounders in the world, there is certainly plenty of expectation to perform. While James Faulkner delivered for the Rajasthan Royals, so far for the Gujarat Lions, he hasn't been able to replicate anywhere near the same form that he showed in the past few seasons.
Tthe Australian all-rounder has already been dropped on more than one occasion by the Lions and one look at Faulkner's numbers and you will certainly know why. In the seven matches that he played, he scored just 77 runs, which might be understandable for someone who bats lower down the order, his inability to finish matches, something he was renowned for, has been a concern.
Yet, the bigger concern is arguably his performance with the ball where he has just picked up two wickets. His average of 83.50 and strike rate of 51 might be great numbers for a Test batsman but aren't for a T20 bowler who is supposed to be a wicket-taking option. Neither is his economy rate of nearly 10. All of this has meant that the Australian all-rounder has been a liability so far this season and is unlikely to play any part in the rest of the tournament.
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina might not have had a brilliant start to the year as a batsman for India but this was the IPL. This was supposed to be his kingdom, where he has scored more runs than anyone else and has established himself as one of the most consistent performers for his franchise and arguably one of the finest in the history of the tournament itself.
And with a new franchise this season and him being the leader of the side as well, even greater things were expected of him. Yet he has struggled to get going in this year's tournament. He has only one fifty to his name and averages a meagre 26 and has a strike rate under 130. Although he has nearly 300 runs to his name, nearly one-fourth of those runs came in a single innings.
The problem with him this season has been his inability to convert starts into big scores, something he was renowned for, throughout the IPL. He has only one single-digit score but has five scores in the twenties. And his shuffling across the stumps and jumping for every ball that is even short of a good length has been his downfall as the short ball problem has continued to linger and haunt him.
With the Lions well placed to qualify for the play-offs, they will be hoping that he fires in the latter stages, if they are to have a good chance of winning their maiden title.
David Miller
Before the start of the season, a lot was expected of David Miller. The South African middle-order batsman has been one of the most consistent performers for the Kings XI Punjab and was rewarded with captaincy for the 2016 season. Despite having only a brief experience of captaincy, he was given the huge responsibility in this year's tournament.
While some rise to the occasion, others just fade into the background and unfortunately for Kings XI, it was the latter. After six matches he was stripped of his captaincy thanks to five losses and just a solitary win. What made it even worse was that his batting was what was letting the team down.
As a captain, he scored just 76 in those matches and although he has improved marginally since relinquishing the arm band, it hasn't been up to the usual standards that he has set himself. 131 runs from 10 matches at an average of 16 and strike rate under 120 is not what you would expect from an international batsman who has been integral to the side over the past few seasons.
Chris Gayle
The list of records that Chris Gayle holds in T20s is simply staggering. The West Indian is arguably the finest eponent of the shortest format of the game. As far as the IPL is concerned, although he doesn't hold the record for the most number of runs, he is one of the best players in the history of the tournament, if not the best.
But 2016 hasn't exactly been a great year for the West Indian. After he scored a hundred against England in West Indies' World T20 opener, smashing quite a few records in the process, he hasn't been the same. He finished the scores of 4, 5 and 4 and that bad form has continued in the current edition of the IPL.
Although he has only played four games, missing a few due to being back home with his expecting wife and a couple due to being dropped from the side, his string of scores are a clear indicator that his form isn't the same. He has scored a total of 13 runs in this IPL at an average of 3.25, including a duck. While it is true that he is prone to the odd mishap or two while batting, his string of score hasn't been this bad in a long time and RCB will be hoping that it changes for the better before too long.
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