World Cup 2019: Combined underperforming XI of the tournament 

Number 3: Gulbadin Naib (c)

Gulbadin Naib

It might seem a bit unfair to include an Afghanistan batsman considering the fact that they are a young cricketing nation, but Gulbadin Naib really deserves to make this list due to his poor batting and captaincy. Gulbadin Naib took over the captaincy from Asghar Afghan just prior to the World Cup taking place. This was a move that shocked everyone including some of the Afghanistan players. This move did not work out well for them. Gulbadin Naib tried to show ownership and responsibility by promoting himself up to the order, but he lacked the one thing needed from a top-order batsman – consistency. To say that he was inconsistent would be an understatement. He lacked a lot of intent and threw his wicket away immaturely. Gulbadin only managed to score 194 runs in the 9 innings he played. With the ball, he performed quite well and picked up 9 wickets in 9 matches. He was the second-highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan.

Even his captaincy wasn’t up to the mark. There were a couple of matches that Afghanistan could’ve won particularly against India and Pakistan. Instead, a few tactical blunders cost his team those two crucial victories. Throughout the World Cup, Gulbadin kept messing with the batting order which seemed to disrupt the flow of the innings. On the field, he wasn’t an attacking captain and was happy to leak singles against the opposition. Gulbadin Naib needs to learn how to be a bit more aggressive in his approach and look for wickets more often.

His poor showing with the bat coupled with his inability to lead this young team earns him a spot on this list.