ICC World Cup 2015: 5 star players who need to step up for their team

Srihari

Barring the surprise elimination of England, everything has pretty much followed the status quo as far as teams qualifying for the knockout stages are concerned. While there were a few hiccups along the way, Pakistan and West Indies eventually joined India, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh into the quarter-finals of ICC World Cup 2015.The group stages of the tournament saw its fair share of heroes and villains. With the quarter-finals just around the corner, here is a list of five players who need to step up for their team in the knockout stages of the tournament.

#1 Shahid Afridi

Coming into the World Cup, Shahid Afridi was arguably Pakistan's most important player. Even though they survived a scare and have made it to the quarter-finals, one player who hasn't had much of a say in their passage to the knockouts is Afridi. The 35-year-old hasn't had much of an impact with either the bat or the ball. While his batting has always been inconsistent and consisted of fantastic performances surrounded by mediocre ones, his bowling, which has been his primary strength in recent years, has also been unconvincing so far.

While the fast bowlers have done their job, Afridi has picked up just two wickets which, for the side's premier spinner, is nowhere near enough. If Pakistan are to have any chance in the latter stages of the tournament, they need Afridi to be more consistent, if not with the bat, then at least with the ball and turn into a wicket-taking option in the middle overs.

#2 Quinton de Kock

With six South African batsmen averaging over 50 in the World Cup so far, it is hard to imagine that a South African batsman would make it into this list. But while the likes of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla have been smoking the ball to all corners of the ground, Quinton de Kock has struggled to get going.

The 22-year-old opening batsman has been dismissed in single digits in four out of the six games and his highest score of 26 came against the group's bottom side, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The southpaw averages a mere 8.8 runs per game and only tailender Imran Tahir has a worse strike rate than de Kock's 52.5. Although they haven't needed him so far, the Proteas will be hoping that their wicketkeeper-batsman can find some form, especially as they go into a crucial knockout game against Sri Lanka.

#3 Ross Taylor

14, 9, 1, 5. These were the scores of Ross Taylor in the first four games of the World Cup. Although New Zealand have looked like one of the complete teams in the tournament, their middle order has looked shaky at times. At number four, the performance of Taylor, who is the side's most experienced batsman, was a concern for the Kiwis heading into their final group games.

Although he subsequently scored his first 50 of the tournament and crossed the 100 run mark for the tournament, it was against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, respectively. Hardly what you would consider top quality opposition. Three of his four dismissals have come against spinners and although West Indies don't boast of any world-class spinners, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle are more than handy with the ball. If they are to win their first World Cup, the Kiwis will need Taylor to be on guard and firing on all cylinders.

#4 Ravindra Jadeja

From a horrible Tri-Series to being perhaps the best team in the World Cup, India have undergone a massive transformation in the last month or so. But one player who has struggled in a near-perfect Indian side is Ravindra Jadeja. So far, Jadeja has not been able to make the most of his opportunities with the bat and has the worst average of any Indian batsman in this tournament.

While his batting is perhaps excused by his position lower down the order, his bowling, which is his biggest strength, hasn't been very good either. Although he has picked up seven wickets, he hasn't had a great tournament with the ball. The 26-year-old has been expensive and has been the weak link amongst the Indian bowlers. If India are to win their second successive World Cup, they need Jadeja to get back to form with both the bat and the ball.

#5 Chris Gayle

It is not often that your side's best batsman, the player with the most runs, a strike rate of over 100 and the second-best average in the tournament, is the player who needs to step up his game. But such has been the performance of Chris Gayle that he makes it into this list even after scoring a double hundred, becoming the first batsman to do so in the history of the World Cup in the process.

The problem with Gayle has always been consistency. In this tournament too, aside from the knock against Zimbabwe, the big Jamaican has struggled to score too many runs. Not only is he not scoring runs, but his lack of running between the wickets means that he is getting other batsmen out as well. If the West Indies are to have any chance against the Kiwis, they need Gayle to step up to the plate, which the left-hander has often failed to do in big games.

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Edited by Staff Editor