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Along expected lines, the 2023 ODI World Cup has been a landmark tournament as far as batting is concerned. The relative flat conditions coupled with the ever-spreading modern brand of cricket have led to mammoth totals, rapid hundreds, and record chases.
A legion of batters have made the most of the conditions on offer and have piled on runs in the first half of the tournament. As of now, South Africa's Quinton de Kock is the leading run-scorer with over 400 runs, including three centuries to his name. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Mohammad Rizwan have also made their presence felt in the race for the top scorer of the tournament.
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However, on an alarming note, a small section of world-class players just have not found their rhythm in the tournament so far, and it has had a massive effect on their respective sides' performance as well.
On that note, let us take a look at five star batters who have been terribly out of form in the 2023 World Cup.
#1 Jos Buttler - England
The ace wicketkeeper-batter is having a tournament to forget as a captain as well as a batter. There were high expectations from him, especially since he entered the tournament in such good form. However. much like the majority of the England batters, Jos Buttler has just struggled to get going.
He has had an issue, particularly with the delivery outside the off-stump channel. The right-handed batter has lost his wicket across multiple matches in the World Cup itself while trying to dab the ball to the third-man region, which introduces both edges of the bat into play.
In terms of numbers, Buttler has only scored 95 runs in five matches in the World Cup at an average of 19.00 and a strike rate of 114.45.
#2 Jonny Bairstow - England
Jos Buttler's teammate and England's opening batter Jonny Bairstow comes next, owing to his poor string of innings in the tournament. He had an integral role to play in the nation's 2019 World Cup triumph and started the 2023 edition on a bright note as well - with a six off New Zealand pacer Trent Boult.
However, he has only been able to compile a few starts and has not been able to convert them into anything significant worth the team's cause.
Bairstow has had issues against left-arm bowling in the World Cup, whether it be pace or spin. He has only scored 127 runs in five innings at an average of 25.40 and a strike rate of 90.07.
His sole noteworthy knock in the tournament is in the form of a half-century against Bangladesh, which is also England's only win so far.
#3 Babar Azam - Pakistan
The Pakistan skipper was arguably a safe bet to end end up as one of the leading run-scorers in the tournament. Coming into the tournament in good form, coupled with the subcontinent conditions almost made him a unanimous pick among those predicting the best batters in the tournament, with his No.1 ODI ranking also resting the same case.
However, things have not quite panned out for Babar Azam as well as Pakistan in the World Cup so far. The ace batter has been heavily criticized for his captaincy as well as his batting approach.
Babar has scored 157 runs in five 2023 World Cup matches at an average of 31.50 and a strike rate of 79.69. Half of his entire run tally came in his most recent innings.
He scored a fifty to help Pakistan post a competitive total against Afghanistan but ended up with a third consecutive loss in the league stage.
#4 Steve Smith - Australia
Steve Smith has a huge role to play as the main anchor in the Australian batting unit. While the Aussies have seemingly turned their campaign around after a forgettable start, they need Steve Smith to step up with more runs if they wish to qualify for the semifinals.
Smith might have been victim to a rather unfortunate dismissal in the loss against South Africa, and he was also at the receiving end of a brilliant unplayable delivery by Ravindra Jadeja in the loss against India.
In spite of those factors, Smith has not looked in his best touch so far. He has scored 143 runs in five matches in the 2023 World Cup at an average of 28.60 and a strike rate of 84.61.
The ace batter made the most of a solid batting surface in Delhi to record a fifty against the Netherlands recently, and Australia will hope that more is to come from him.
#5 Imam-ul-Haq - Pakistan
Pakistan have had some issues concerning their opening combination, which led to Abdullah Shafique replacing Fakhar Zaman in the playing XI. However, Imam-ul-Haq is also arguably not faring all that well.
He had a lukewarm Asia Cup 2023 campaign and now has only 150 runs at an average of 30.00 and a strike rate of 92.59 in five 2023 ODI World Cup matches.
The left-handed batter has been often troubled by the short-pitched delivery as well, and it is an area that he needs to address.
Will the aforementioned players turn around their form in the second half of the 2023 World Cup campaign? Let us know what you think.
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