IPL 2018: Overseas batsmen who failed to leave a mark this season

Over the years, the IPL has been blessed with premier overseas stars. Without the overseas players, the tournament would have never been the competition it turned out to be.

In the eleventh edition of IPL, overseas players played a huge role in the campaign of both finalists. Players like Shane Watson and Dwayne Bravo performed brilliantly for CSK, while Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson were the key players for SRH.

Form and consistency are the most important factors for players to keep their place in the playing eleven.

Some foreigners dominated this year's IPL, while some found it difficult to perform on Indian pitches. It is a big blow for any franchise when their star overseas players fail to perform at crucial stages.

Here is a list of such overseas players who failed to impress in the eleventh edition of IPL.

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#1 Aaron Finch (Kings XI Punjab)

After missing the first match due to his wedding, Aaron Finch featured in the second match for KXIP. Following the conclusion of IPL 2018 auctions, the worry for Punjab seemed to be its inconsistently erratic batting.

With inexperienced batsmen in the order, Finch was relied upon to turn out to be a pillar in Punjab's batting order. The Australian, who is in the top 5 ICC T20 batsmen rankings, failed miserably in this season.

In the 10 matches he played, Finch managed to score only 134 runs at an average of just above 16. His poor form was a big blow for KXIP, who failed to find a place in playoffs.

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#2 D'Arcy Short (Rajasthan Royals)

D'Arcy Short failed to live up to expectations

D'Arcy Short came into the spotlight when he scored 572 runs in just 11 matches in BBL 2017-18 season. He scored the runs at top of the order with a strike-rate of 148.57 and an average of 57.20.

The Australian was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the auction for Rs. 4 crores. With Steven Smith not a part of this year's IPL, the platform was set for Short to make it count.

Unfortunately, the left-hander failed to live up to the expectations of his franchise. In 7 matches, Short only managed to score 115 runs at an average of 16.42. His strike rate of 116.16 at the top of the order was also a thing to worry.

Jos Buttler, who replace Short at top of the order, proved to be the key player for Rajasthan Royals, who qualified in the playoff positions.

#3 Glenn Maxwell (Delhi Daredevils)

Glenn Maxwell let down his franchise

Glenn Maxwell missed the first match for DD due to Aaron Finch's marriage.

Gautam Gambhir failed to give a good start to the side, while Maxwell disappointed as well in the middle order. The Australian is known for his aggressive style of play and with the inexperienced batting line-up, he was expected to play mature innings for the side.

Maxwell let down his franchise by scoring just 169 runs at an average of 14.08 in 12 games, and also failed to score a half-century in this season of IPL.

The right-hander was to be the key player for Delhi Daredevils, but couldn't contribute enough which resulted in a bottom place finish for his side.

#4 Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals)

Ben Stokes had a forgetful season with the Royals.

The Englishman who was bought for a record price of Rs. 14.5 crores by Rising Pune Supergiant last season, but had a forgetful season with the Royals this year.

In 2017, Stokes proved to be the most valuable player for RPS, and managed to help his team to the finals. His stats in 2017 read 316 runs at an average of 31.6 and 12 wickets in just 12 games.

But in 2018, Stokes failed to impress. In 13 games, he scored 196 runs at an average of 17.33 and took only 8 wickets.

Rajasthan Royals luckily qualified for the playoffs thanks to the brilliance of Jos Buttler but Stokes had a season to forget.