IPL 2022: Flop XI from league stages of the competition 

Only two games remain before the winners of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are crowned.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will go head-to-head in Qualifier 2 to seal a berth in the IPL 2022 finals. Debutant Gujarat Titans (GT) have already booked their spot in the finals.

The league stage, which saw 70 high-octane encounters, starting on March 26, ended with a clash between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 22.

The league stage witnessed some astounding knocks by the batters and many match-winning spells by the bowlers. With ten franchises, this IPL season saw several youngsters stepping up and making a name for themselves.

However, some proven performers failed to live up to their billing and failed to manifest their mettle in the tournament.

On that note, let us take a look at the players who were far from their best and flopped in the league stage of the IPL 2022 season.

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Openers: Rohit Sharma (MI) and Kane Williamson (SRH)

Two modern-day greats in Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson endured a torrid IPL 2022 campaign. Both captains were unable to contribute to their IPL teams, which proved to be one of their teams' frailties this time around.

For the very first time in his career, Sharma couldn't manage to hit a single half-century in a season. While he looked in good touch in most of his games, the Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper could only gather 268 runs at a mediocre strike rate of 120.

Kane Williamson, on the other hand, looked out of sorts this campaign. He entered the tournament following a prolonged injury layoff and a superlative ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

However, lPL 2022 couldn’t have been any worse for the Kiwi as he struggled for runs. When in form, Williamson is one of the most appealing batters to watch but he has only scored 216 runs at a strike rate of under 100.

View the IPL 2022 orange cap here.

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Middle order: Matthew Wade (WK) (GT), Mayank Agarwal (PBKS), Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)

World Cup winner Matthew Wade will be our wicket-keeper in this XI. The Australian was picked up by debutants Gujarat Titans (GT) following his impressive run with his national side. However, the 34-year-old has struggled for runs in the marquee event.

In eight league outings, Wade scored a meager 114 runs at a mediocre strike rate of under 115. Fortunately for the Gujarat Titans, his form hasn't cost them a lot since they were the first franchise to qualify for the IPL 2022 finals.

At No. 4 is PBKS skipper Mayank Agarwal. He was lauded for giving his opening position to Jonny Bairstow and demoting himself to the middle order. However, runs were hard to come by in any position for Mayank this season. In 12 innings, the Karnataka-born could only amass 195 runs with an average of just 16 and a strike rate of below 123.

Ravindra Jadeja completes the middle order for this team. Jadeja, who is one of the highest-paid players in the league, was handed the captaincy before the commencement of the season. Unfortunately for him, everything has gone downhill since his appointment as skipper for CSK.

The all-rounder missed the last four matches of the tournament due to an injury, playing just 10 matches this campaign. With the bat, he managed just 116 runs despite being promoted up the order.

Jadeja wasn't successful with the ball either, picking up just five wickets, three of which came in a single game. He eventually opted to hand the captaincy back to MS Dhoni after CSK's poor performance under the Saurashtra man.

Lower order: Keiron Pollard (MI) and Shahrukh Khan (PBKS)

Keiron Pollard of Mumbai Indians endured a tough IPL 2022 [P.C: IPT20].

Mumbai Indians opted to retain Keiron Pollard for his power-hitting prowess ahead of Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. Last year, the Caribbean all-rounder batted at a strike rate of 149 and even won a couple of games for MI single-handedly.

However, this year, due to his sluggish form, Pollard wasn't able to contribute to his side and was even dropped in the last few matches. The former Windies skipper has amassed only 144 runs in 11 fixtures at an average of 14.40 and a mediocre strike rate of 107.46 - Pollard's lowest ever in his IPL career.

At No. 7 is another PBKS batter in Shahrukh Khan. There was a substantial amount of hype for the Tamil Nadu dasher prior to this year's IPL season. He guided his domestic side to a fabulous victory in the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which raised his stock at the mega auction.

Punjab had to pay a colossal ₹9 crores to secure his services. However, Shahrukh's performances haven't justified his price tag this season, to say the least. In eight games, the right-hander could only score 117 runs at an abortive strike rate of 108.

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Bowlers: Pat Cummins (KKR), Shardul Thakur (DC), Varun Chakravarthy (KKR) and Mohammed Siraj (RCB)

Shardul Thakur was an expensive buy at the mega auction for DC [P.C: IPLT20]

Spearheading our pace attack is Australia's red-ball captain, Pat Cummins. The Sydney-born delivered one of the most memorable IPL innings ever against Mumbai earlier in the tournament.

However, the veteran pacer's bowling performances have been dismal, with seven wickets in five games at an economy of over ten runs per over.

Delhi Capitals (DC) bought Shardul Thakur for a massive ₹10.75 crores - the same amount that RCB paid for Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga. Playing a key role in CSK's IPL 2021 triumph, big things were expected from the Mumbai-born pacer.

Though Thakur picked up 15 scalps in the league stages for DC, his economy of 9.78 was the worst among all Delhi bowlers who bowled a minimum of five overs. Moreover, six of his 15 wickets have come in the last two league fixtures.

At No. 10 is KKR's Varun Chakravarthy, who was retained by his franchise following a great IPL 2021 campaign. The mystery spinner had a below-par start to the IPL 2022 and was even dropped from the starting XI.

The 30-year-old bowler was eventually reinstated to the starting lineup. He has been inexpensive since his comeback but has struggled to take wickets. Chakravarthy has six wickets at an economy of 8.5 in 11 IPL 2022 matches. His average of 55.3 is also one of the worst among all full-time bowlers this season.

Mohammed Siraj completes our XI. He is another retained player who failed to deliver for his franchise. Siraj, who loves to attack with the new ball, has lacked venom in the competition. The RCB seamer snared just eight wickets in 13 league stage matches at a poor economy and average of 9.8 and 54, respectively.

After getting dropped in RCB's last must-win encounter against GT, Siraj came back into the side for the Eliminator. He did get a huge breakthrough by dismissing Quinton de Knock. However, the right-armer also leaked 41 runs in his four overs.