World Cup 2019: Three world-class players who had a poor tournament

Every cricketer has a dream to do well for his country in the Cricket World Cup. So it is not a surprise that the players reserve their best game for cricket's biggest stage. Some new heroes emerge in the tournament, while some big names fail to deliver according to their potential.

The whole world is watching the World Cup and if you are a known face, there are more eyeballs on you than on anyone else. This added attention increases the stakes and some great players even wilt under the pressure of expectations.

In the 2019 edition of the World Cup, there have been some world-class players who have failed to do well. There were a lot of expectations from them coming into the tournament, but they were not able to deliver on their promise. So let us look at some high-quality players who had a poor campaign according to their high standards.

---

#1 Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill was the star of New Zealand's World Cup campaign in 2015. The devastating opening batsman finished as the top-scorer of the tournament, scoring 547 runs as New Zealand qualified for the final for the first time.

The Kiwis would have hoped that their star opener could perform in the same way in the 2019 edition as he did in the last edition. Guptill seemed to start this World Cup from where he left in the 2015 as he scored 73 runs off 51 balls vs Sri Lanka in the first match.

However, since then, he has struggled for form as he has just scored 95 runs in the last eight innings. His poor form has put more pressure on the likes of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor who had to do damage control in every other match. Although, Guptill will have one more innings to make amends, as New Zealand take on England in the final.

Also see – Dream 11 predictions

#2 Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

De Kock in action

Quinton de Kock had a brilliant campaign in the IPL as he lifted the trophy with Mumbai Indians and was in good touch with the bat too. The South African wicket-keeper batsman was high on confidence coming into the tournament so there were a lot of expectations from him.

The left-handed batsman started the tournament with brilliant innings of 68 against England. De Kock, who has 14 centuries in ODI cricket, got off to some decent starts but he was not able to convert those starts into big scores.

He was the third-highest scorer for South Africa in the tournament but a batsman of his ability should be able to score hundreds to guide his team to big scores. The 26-year-old failed to do that in this tournament and the Proteas struggled. South Africa managed to win just three matches in the tournament as they finished seventh, which is poor for a team of their quality.

Also see – Biggest world cup win

#3 Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

Kagiso Rabada

South Africa has always been blessed with a quality pace bowling attack. This time around, their bowling was led by one of the best fast bowlers in the world in the form of Kagiso Rabada. The 24-year-old was brilliant for his country in 2018, as he won the CSA Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year, and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards.

Rabada was expected to do well in the English conditions which generally have some help for the fast bowlers. Surprisingly, he was not able to make his mark on the tournament as he struggled for rhythm, perhaps because of his incessant workload and recent injury.

Rabada was able to pick just 11 wickets in the tournament at an average of more than 36, which is poor for a bowler of his standard. He is still young and should be able to get more opportunities at cricket's biggest stage to display his talent in the future.

Also see – World cup winners captains list