5 famous players who were dropped after World Cup failures

The cricket World Cup is one of the most anticipated tournaments in the world. Every cricketer aspires to play the World Cup for his nation and a players' legacy is defined by his performance in the tournament. If a player performs in the high-pressure situations of the World Cup, it helps his career in a huge way.

But unfortunately, it is a double-edged sword. While a player can enhance his reputation by a good show in the World Cup, a poor performance in the tournament can prove detrimental to his career.

The amount of expectations from the players has sometimes resulted in underwhelming performances from them. Moreover, the star players from the teams have the extra responsibility of taking their teams through. And in case they are not able to do that, they face the consequences once the tournament ends.

There have been numerous instances where big names were sacked owing to their or their team's poor performance at the World Cup. Here are 5 such famous players who were axed after the World Cup.

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#5 James Anderson

Anderson was disappointing at the 2015 World Cup

James Anderson is undoubtedly one of England's greatest Test bowlers. The right-arm seamer is the country's highest Test wicket-taker and is still going strong in international cricket. Anderson was an integral part of England's ODI side too, until the 2015 World Cup.

Anderson, along with Stuart Broad, was expected to lead England's bowling-attack but unfortunately things did not go his way. He took just 5 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 49 and was nowhere near his best.

England crashed out of the tournament in the first round and questions were raised about Anderson's place in the ODI side. As a result, he was dropped from the side and hasn't played a single ODI since.

#2 Lance Klusener

Klusener was axed after 2003 World Cup

Lance Klusener is one of the most underrated cricketers of all time. The South African all-rounder was a high utility player who was exceptionally talented and produced some memorable performances for his nation.

He will always be remembered for his breakthrough performance in the 1999 World Cup. Klusener was the center of South Africa's fabulous World Cup campaign and the heartbreak in the semi-final against Australia. He was eventually named the Man of the tournament.

Klusener was expected to play a huge role in Proteas' home World Cup campaign in 2003 too. But, he failed miserably and South Africa failed to qualify for the 'super Sixes.' Klusener was dropped from the team after the tournament.

He later claimed that Graeme Smith was responsible for his sacking from the national side. The all-rounder did make a comeback later on but couldn't cement his place in the side.

#3 Vinod Kambli

Kambli had an unfulfilled career

Vinod Kambli is the only player in this list who is more famous for his off-field antics than his on-field performances. However, the Mumbai lad had a marvelous start to his international career and he looked like one for the future. But unfortunately, he couldn't translate potential into performance and his career graph went downtown gradually.

His career hit an all-time low at the 1996 World Cup. India had a strong squad for the World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Indian team played outstanding cricket to get into the semis where they faced the in-form Sri Lankan side. Chasing a target of 252 runs for a place in the final, India suffered a major collapse and dramatically lost the match after crowd disruption.

The image of a crying Vinod Kambli leaving the field in disbelief is still irked in every Indian cricket fan's memory. Subsequently, he was dropped from the side owing to the mediocre performance in the World Cup.

#2 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan made a successful comeback in World T20

Harbhajan Singh, one of India's all-time great off spinners, has had his ups and downs in his career. The 'turbanator', as Harbhajan is famously called, was an integral part of the Indian team across formats right from the beginning of his career. However, in the 2007 World cup, what is regarded as a dark chapter in India's cricket history, Harbhajan's international career suffered a major jolt.

The Indian team lost two out of it's three group games and were embarrassingly knocked out of the tournament. Following the World Cup, the spotlight was on the senior players and Harbhajan was amongst the players who had to bear the brunt of the debacle and he was subsequently dropped from the team.

But Harbhajan made a sensational comeback to the Indian team in the inaugural World T20. India went on to win the tournament and Harbhajan made a successful comeback the ODI side as well.

#1 Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram was dropped despite having a good World Cup 2003

Despite having an illustrious career, Wasim Akram had his own share of controversies. The Pakistan legend tops the list of fast bowlers with highest number of wickets in one-day internationals.

The 'Sultan of Swing' was one of the most dreaded fast bowlers in world cricket. He was part of Pakistan's World Cup winning squad in 1992 and was given the responsibility of captaining the side in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. However, despite having one of the best pace attacks comprising of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan failed to progress the Super Sixes stage. The defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India added insult to the Pakistan side.

Nevertheless, Akram reached the milestone of 500 ODI wickets, becoming the first bowler to achieve the feat, during the course of the tournament. But this wasn't enough for him to retain his place in the side and was axed after the tournament. Akram later announced his retirement from cricket.