5 cricketers who disappointed in 2018

The year 2018 has almost ended, but there was no dearth of quality action in the field of cricket. There were numerous record-breaking performances and heartwarming gestures in the roller-coaster game, that gave fans a lot of reasons to remember the year.

2019 will be a notable year too, especially because of the World Cup that will be played. In the lead-up to the big tournament, most teams would want their players to be in top form.

However, there were a few big names, who would have walked into 2018 with a reputation of having a great year, but ended up disappointing their teams and their fans in international cricket.

Let us take a look at five such players:

#5 Quinton de Kock

The talented left-handed batsmen has been one of the top performers for the South African team in the last half a decade. Stylish and effective, Quinton de Kock has also been a vital component behind the stumps for the Proteas especially after Mark Boucher's departure from international cricket.

He has also been a sought-after in T20s, and recently switched from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Mumbai Indians for the 2019 IPL season, just before the auctions.

In the last two years (2016 and 2017), he has averaged more than 50 in ODIs, but 2018 wasn't as good for the left-hander who was supposed to make an impact with the departure of AB de Villiers.

He managed just two 50s in 10 ODI innings, and had a dismal year. The numbers in Tests were far worse, as he could manage only two 50s in 18 innings at an average of 21.77.

South Africa fans will be hoping that he will be able to bring back his form in time for the 2019 World Cup.

#4 Hasan Ali

Hasan Ali could not repeat the heroics of 2017

The right-handed pacer, who made a huge impact in the 2017 Champions Trophy for Pakistan, helping them win their first title, was a tad disappointing by his own standards. Although he did not have a dismal year, the numbers that he had in 2018 were a pale shadow of his form the previous year, where he ended the year as the most successful bowler in ODIs.

In 18 ODI matches last year, Hasan Ali picked up a whopping 45 wickets. This year, he managed only 19 in 15 ODI games. More than that, he could not make much of an impact in important tournaments like the Asia Cup, where he picked up just five wickets in five games. He was not even in the top-15 wicket-takers in the Asia Cup.

In 6 Tests and 11 innings, he managed only 22 wickets, with only one five-wicket haul to his name. Perhaps the success of 2017 worked against him this year, with the expectations high on him.

#3 Hashim Amla

South Africa v Australia - 2nd Test: Day 2

Hashim Amla is considered as one of the modern game's most successful batsman. However, the year 2018 wasn't an impressive one for the South African top-order batsman. The 35-year-old has more than 9000 Test runs to his name but managed to average only 26.84 this year in the longest format of the game. That included five 50s and no hundreds from 20 Test innings.

In the shorter formats, the story was no different. For the first time since 2009, Amla did not post a century throughout the year for South Africa in ODIs, and averaged 28.63 with only 2 fifties from 11 innings. He played just one T20I this year.

In the absence of AB de Villiers for the World Cup, the South African side would want their senior statesman to be a rock at the top of the order. He would be hoping to find form before the tournament begins in May.

#2 KL Rahul

Australia v India - 2nd Test: Day 2

He'll move into his fifth year of international cricket, but KL Rahul continues to be an enigma. He scored a T20I hundred, scored a Test century in England, but still ended 2018 as a disappointment.

In Tests this year, KL Rahul got an extended run at the top of the order, and played 22 innings, but apart from one century and one fifty, he seemed like a batsman low on confidence. He ended the year with an average of 22.28, which doesn't do justice to his talent.

He has had a stop-start ODI career that has seen him play only 13 ODIs since 2016. This year, he got a chance to play in 3 ODIs and could manage only 69 runs in them, one of them being a 60.

T20Is were better, where he averaged 36 and had a strike-rate of 149.30 with a century and fifty to his name. He also had a great IPL, but the inconsistency in form across format has been his biggest bane.

#1 MS Dhoni

England v India - 3rd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had a terrific IPL, both as a player and as skipper of the team that returned in the T20 tournament. Yet, Dhoni's CSK success didn't translate in international cricket, as he had one of his worst years in the Indian jersey.

He will head into 2019 as a 37-year-old with the baggage of a difficult year. He averaged more than 60 in 2017, but managed an average of only 25 this year in ODIs, failing to score a single fifty. His strike-rate also dropped from the mid-80s in 2017 to 71 this year.

The T20Is were better, where he averaged 41 from 5 innings and also scored a fifty. However, he was dropped from the T20I squads for West Indies and Australia, and while he was recalled for the New Zealand series, it is uncertain as to where his T20I career is headed.

The team needs him the most in the ODI format, and given his low numbers, fans will be hoping 2019 brings him all the luck he needs ahead of the World Cup.