IPL 2020: Most disappointing XI of the tournament

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League witnessed some stellar individual performances in all departments of the game. However, some players had a rather quiet campaign in IPL 2020.

Several high-profile names who have mesmerized us with their talent over the years, were unable make their mark on IPL 2020. Many cricketers failed to live up to expectations, and turned into big-time flops this season.

Without any further ado, here's the most disappointing eleven of IPL 2020:

Notable exclusions: Ajinkya Rahane, Riyan Parag, Priyam Garg.

Openers

Aaron Finch (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Aaron Finch

Innings: 12

Runs: 268

Average: 22.33

Strike Rate: 111.20

The Australian white-ball captain was brought in for 4.4 crores in IPL 2020 to ease RCB's over-reliance on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. His belligerent style was expected to bode well with the team, and he has been on terrific form in the international scene. Alas, things didn't quite pan out that way.

Finch struggled to find form, and was often seen playing second fiddle to the in-form Devdutt Padikkal. His inability to get going increased the pressure on other batsmen. He registered a single fifty in his eleven outings before being phased out of the team for the last three league games.

Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals)

Enter caption

Innings: 13

Runs: 228

Average: 17.53

Strike Rate: 136.52

India’s U-19 World Cup-winning captain was retained ahead of IPL 2020 by Delhi Capitals, and arrived in UAE after tweaking his technique. The starlet under the guidance of head coach Ricky Ponting changed his stance, a bit towards off-stump. The 20-year-old had a promising start to the tournament with a couple of 60s in the first half but has failed in the long run with a string of low scores.

Shaw failed to score in excess of 20 runs in his last eight innings, and offered little support to Shikhar Dhawan at the other end. Shaw was criticized not only for his meager returns with the willow, but also the way that he gifted wickets to the opposition. He got out mostly playing far too many reckless shots in the air.

Robin Uthappa (Rajasthan Royals)

Robin Uthappa

Innings: 12

Runs: 196

Average: 16.33

Strike Rate: 119.51

Rajasthan Royals secured the services of Robin Uthappa for ₹3 crore after his memorable 6-season stint with KKR. Renowned for his unfailing consistency, the Karnataka batsmen still holds the record for most consecutive 40+ scores in T20s with eleven.

The seasoned opener was seen as an ideal replacement for Ajinkya Rahane, who departed for Delhi before the start of the season. Ironically, he rarely got chances to bat at the top for the Royals in the initial part of the season, and failed to fulfill the middle-order role assigned by management. When he did open, he provided us with glimpses of his 'Walking Assassin' years with a quickfire 41 off 22 against KKR.

Uthappa's form picked up following his promotion, but he still failed to slam a single half-century in IPL 2020. He only managed 196 runs in the entire tournament cementing his position strongly in this list.

Middle-Order

Glenn Maxwell (Kings XI Punjab)

Glenn Maxwell

Innings: 11

Runs: 108

Average: 15.42

Strike Rate: 101.88

Kings XI Punjab retained Glenn Maxwell's services for a whopping price of ₹10.75 crore, hoping that the allrounder would replicate his career-defining 2014 run in KXIP's best campaign till date. The unorthodox but effective Victorian hasn't lived up to his reputation of late, but a player of his caliber deserved a second chance, and got one.

Punjab stuck with him throughout the season, but Maxwell the batsman just failed to turn up. The Australian failed to register a single six in the 106 balls he faced. His highest score was an uncharacteristic 24-ball 32 which was also the only time he went past 20 all season long. Maxwell's miserable form and inability to finish games derailed Punjab, and paved the way for their early exit from the tournament.

Dinesh Karthik (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Dinesh Karthik

Innings: 14

Runs: 169

Average: 14.08

Strike Rate: 126.11

Dinesh Karthik found his relevance as a middle-order pinch-hitter after steering India to a win over Bangladesh in the final of Nidahas Trophy back in 2018. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been a consistent performer for KKR in the past two seasons, and established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet.

But Karthik turned out to be a major disappointment in this year's IPL, racking up just 169 runs in his 14 outings for the Knight Riders. Karthik's average stands at an abysmally low 14.08, as he found it hard to middle the ball perfectly and looked completely out of sorts.

He could only manage a solitary fifty in the entire tournament, and was dismissed for a duck on three occasions. Although he relinquishing the captaincy midway through the season to focus on his batting, Karthik struggled with the bat.

Kedar Jadhav (Chennai Super Kings)

Kedar Jadhav

Innings: 5

Runs: 62

Average: 20.66

Strike Rate: 93.33

Kedar Jadhav had a season to forget for the yellow brigade. The 35-year-old received a lot of flak for his inexplicable intent in the run-chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite the heavy investment on him, the Pune-based batsman failed to cross the 30-run mark and had an inexcusable strike-rate of 93.93.

You simply cannot be striking at under 100 in the slam-bang version of the game, and this is the second successive season where he’s done so. CSK management, who underutilized him, were forced to drop him for the majority of the second half of the tournament, due to mounting pressure from fans and media. In a nutshell, whenever Jadhav was picked in the team, he looked like liability, and CSK played with 10 men.

Wicket-keeper and Captain

MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)

MS Dhoni

Innings: 12

Runs: 200

Average: 25

Strike Rate: 116.27

The Indian cricket stalwart brought down the curtains on his trophy-laden International career before the start of the IPL 2020. The entire cricketing world had waited 14 months to see the iconic cricketer back in action. But all the expectations went up in smoke as Dhoni's batting went from bad to worse as the tournament progressed.

Dhoni endured his worst ever IPL season ever, scoring just 200 runs and failing to record even a single fifty. Dhoni looked like a spent force and his below-par strike-rate of 116.27 is a testament to his waning abilities. Dhoni's struggle against the spinners was clearly visible, and he often looked a pale shadow of his former majestic self. Most importantly, he let his team down when they needed him the most - to finish off matches or see off games.

To make matters worse, the legendary skipper failed to inspire his side as a leader as Chennai failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their storeyed history. Be it the constant inclusion of Kedar Jadhav ahead of young starlets Ruturaj Gaikwad and Narayan Jagadeesan, or benching previous year's purple cap holder Imran Tahir, Dhoni's decisions defied logic. The only saving grace for the 204-game IPL veteran was his terrific work behind the stumps, as he rolled back the years to dismiss 16.

All-rounder

Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Andre Russell

Innings: 9

Runs: 117

Average: 13

Strike Rate: 144.4

Wickets: 6

Economy Rate: 9.72

Andre Russell, the name itself instills fear in the hearts of opposition bowlers all around the globe. When the Caribbean gets going, he is unstoppable. and has the ability to take the attack to the opposition. His ability to turn the tide in favor of his side has earned him hefty contracts with T20 franchises all across the world.

The driving force of KKR since 2015, much was expected from Russell this year, as he mustered 510 runs at a whooping strike-rate of 204.81 last time around. But the destroyer was a pale shadow of himself this year, and could only notch up 117 runs in 9 innings at a ridiculous average of 13 and a personal best score of 25.

He could only clear the boundary 9 times in this season whereas he struck a staggering 52 sixes in 2019. Russell was also shoddy on the bowling front, leaking 175 runs in his 18 overs. His ill-timed injuries didn't help his cause either, plummeting his confidence and dampening the spirits of KKR fans.

Bowlers

Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals)

Jaydev Unadkat

Innings: 7

Wickets: 4

Average: 57

Economy Rate: 9.91

The late bloomer was drafted by the Royals after a strong showing for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. The lanky pacer has remained with the Rajasthan based franchise since then, despite RR releasing him ahead of the auction (twice) only to buy him back for a cheaper price. Fast bowlers in general had a great tournament, whereas Unadkat remained off-color throughout the campaign.

Similar to all his seasons at RR, Unadkat once again failed to justify his price-tag. He featured in seven games and could only scalp four wickets. He failed to share the load with Jofra Archer and remained on the expensive side, leaking 228 runs. Unadkat has been too predictable off-late, as he overdoes his ability to vary pace. His ludicrous execution of plans against RCB in the penultimate over of a crunch reverse fixture bounded him to warm the benches for the rest of the season.

Dale Steyn (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Dale Steyn

Innings: 3

Wickets: 1

Average: 133

Economy Rate: 11.40

With an old-school swift bowling action, brisk run-up, and unbridled zeal, Dale Steyn has destroyed the best of batting attacks in his illustrious 15-year-old career. The all-time great was picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for his base price of 2 crores earlier in the auction, after they released him in November.

With his experience and verve, Steyn was expected to spearhead the leader-less pace attack of the perennial underachievers. Appearing to be significantly out of form, Steyn could not live up to the billing this time around. The South African plucked a solitary wicket at the expense of 133 runs in his three appearances. Steyn was a pale shadow of his former menacing-self, bowling at an almost predictable pace, line, and length. He lacked variations and was easy meat for batters.

Ankit Rajpoot (Rajasthan Royals)

Ankit Rajpoot

Innings: 6

Wickets: 2

Average: 99.50

Economy Rate: 11.70

The Rajasthan management were perhaps expecting to inherit the Rajpoot of 2018, who took one of the finest five-wicket hauls in IPL history, when they sealed a deal with Kings XI Punjab ahead of IPL 2020. But what they instead got was an unconfident, inaccurate trundler who seemed to have lost a good 5-8 yards of pace.

Rajpoot looked like a rookie in a room full of connoisseurs. He had a meagre return of 2 wickets in his six outings. In stark contrast to his overseas bowling partner, Jofra Archer, Rajpoot was criminally expensive during his spells, especially against MI.

Rajpoot's bowling figures seem more preposterous when you consider the fact that he almost always came to the bowl on the back of a two or three-run Jofra Archer first over. He displayed a serious lack of intelligence and disciple and was often RR's weakest link.

12th Man: Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals)

Rishabh Pant

Innings: 13

Runs: 287

Average: 28.70

Strike Rate: 109.12

Rishabh Pant had a very quiet IPL season by his standards. This is a player who amassed 684 and 488 runs in IPL 2018 and 2019 respectively. A strike rate of 109.12 for Delhi’s most explosive batsman is a catastrophe. The southpaw has failed to register a single fifty and his highest score has been 38. He has barely managed to time the ball and the bowlers have bowled smartly by targeting him with deliveries wider outside the off-stump.

Pant's physical fitness has also been questioned as the lad has looked out of shape for the entirety of the campaign. By extending his indifferent batting form in the national colors to the ongoing season, Pant has been omitted from the national team for the upcoming tour down-under.