World Cup 2019: 4 players who performed well in IPL 2019 but have underperformed in the World Cup

The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded a month ago with Mumbai Indians winning their fourth IPL title. Unlike the previous seasons, the recent edition of IPL preceded the ICC Cricket World Cup. Hence, the attention was more towards the workload and injury concerns of the players. Citing these issues, several Australian players opted to stay out of participating in the IPL.

Though the players from other countries featured in the IPL, a whole lot of them left early at the back-end of the tournament to prepare for the World Cup. As in the previous seasons, several overseas players performed well in this season too. However, despite their positive show in the IPL, some of them have failed miserably at the World Cup.

Here, let us look at four such under-performing players in the World Cup who performed well in IPL 2019.

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#4 Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock, the South African wicket-keeper batsman, had a brilliant IPL 2019 campaign. In his maiden season with Mumbai Indians, de Kock scored 529 runs from 16 matches with four fifties.

His consistent performance with the bat at the top of the order was one of the significant factors behind Mumbai winning their fourth IPL title. He finished third in the overall run-getters list at the end of the tournament.

Before the IPL, de Kock had a dream ODI series against Sri Lanka as he scored four consecutive 50+ scores. In five matches, he scored 353 runs with an average of 70.60. Hence, de Kock was expected to carry his golden run of form into the World Cup.

de Kock started the World Cup with a decent knock of 68 runs against England in the tournament opener. However, he began to fade away once the tournament progressed. In eight matches, he has scored 253 runs with two fifties. Though these numbers might look decent, they are well below the standards of de Kock.

#3 Chris Gayle (West Indies)

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, has always been a dangerous player on his day. His love affair with the IPL continued in this previous season as well. In 13 matches, Gayle scored 490 runs with four fifties. Despite being aged 39, he still fired in the IPL with a tremendous strike rate of 153.60.

Ahead of the IPL, Gayle had an excellent ODI series against England. Hence, a lot was expected from Gayle before the start of this year’s World Cup. However, he has failed to deliver in the World Cup with several inconsistent performances.

In seven innings, Gayle has scored 235 runs with the best score of 87. Though he has scored two fifties, he has blown hot and cold so far in the tournament. Being the senior-most player in the squad, Gayle is expected to lead from the front in his final World Cup.

Nevertheless, the Jamaican has disappointed everyone and the ‘Gayle Storm’ is yet to arrive in England.

#2 Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada, the South African speedster, had a stellar IPL 2019 campaign. In 12 matches, Rabada claimed 25 wickets with an economy rate of 7.82. He finished second in the overall wickets chart with only his fellow compatriot Imran Tahir ahead of him (26 wickets).

His pinpoint yorker to dismiss Russell in the super-over was arguably the ‘ball of IPL 2019’. A back niggle at the back-end of the tournament forced Rabada to leave the IPL early. Rabada’s excellent bowling form sent early warnings to the batsmen ahead of the World Cup.

Rabada was expected to repeat his IPL performances in the World Cup. However, the Protea pacer has not enjoyed a good run in the ongoing World Cup. In seven matches, he has taken only eight wickets with a poor bowling strike rate of 51.

Besides, Faf du Plessis’ latest revelation about the attempt to stop Rabada from playing IPL added fuel to the fire. According to Faf, ‘fatigue’ is the primary factor behind Rabada’s poor performances in the World Cup. Nevertheless, Rabada has not looked threatening in this World Cup.

#1 Andre Russell (West Indies)

Andre Russell

Andre Russell was the star performer of IPL 2019. In 13 innings, Russell scored 510 runs with an explosive strike rate of 204.81. With the ball, he picked up 11 wickets and topped both the runs and wickets charts of KKR. He deservedly won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award at the end of the tournament.

Russell bailed out KKR in several matches with his blistering explosive knocks lower down the order. His sublime form in IPL made him the most significant threat ahead of the World Cup. However, the Jamaican all-rounder has failed to live up to his expectations.

In his three innings at the World Cup, Russell managed to score a mere 36 runs. With the ball, he claimed five wickets in his four matches. Apart from his bowling performance against Pakistan in their first league match, Russell failed to make any significant contribution to this World Cup.

Despite his poor performances, everyone trusted Russell to bounce back in the second half of the tournament. However, his World Cup campaign came to a premature end with an unfortunate knee injury ruling the all-rounder out of the World Cup.