World Cup 2019: Underperforming XI of the tournament

The 2019 World Cup ended on a thrilling note as hosts England defeated New Zealand on the basis of a 'boundary count' margin after the Super Over was tied to clinch their maiden World Cup title.

The tournament was a treat to watch for the cricket fans all around the world as they witnessed some fantastic cricket on all fronts by some of the best talent all across the globe.

However, there were a lot of disappointing performances as well. There were a number of players who failed to live up to the expectations for their respective teams.

These players were extremely crucial for their team's chances of winning the tournament and their poor performance could be pin-pointed as one of the low points in their respective teams' campaign.

Here is an XI consisting of players who underperformed in World Cup 2019.

Openers - Martin Guptill, Fakhar Zaman

Martin Guptill was the leading run-getter of World Cup 2015. However, this time around he failed to create the magic again. Guptill had a horrendous World Cup 2019 with things just going from bad to worse.

His poor form could be attributed to the team's inconsistent run throughout the competition. New Zealand were always under the pump after losing Guptill early in the innings as the opener scored a paltry 186 runs in 10 games at a poor average of 20.66.

Fakhar Zaman would have come to England with happy memories from the 2017 Champions trophy where he stunned India in the finals with a sensational ton and announced himself on the World stage.

His career took off from the game on as he also became the fastest batman to reach the 1000 ODI run-mark. However, inconsistency has dented Zaman's form in the last 12 months but it did not affect his selection into the World Cup squad.

Despite being backed at the top, the 29-year-old struggled to get going in the tournament. In eight matches, Fakhar amassed just 186 runs with a mediocre average of 23.25 with just a solitary fifty.

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Middle order - Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk)

Shoaib Malik was one of the most experienced players in Pakistan's World Cup squad and he was expected to provide strength to the middle-order. Unfortunately, the 37-year-old scored just 8 runs from three games and was dropped from the playing XI owing to his poor run of form. Post Pakistan's exit from the World Cup, Shoaib Malik announced his retirement from the sport.

One of the biggest reasons for South Africa's dismal run in this World Cup was the side's inconsistent batting performances. One such batsman, who failed to deliver in crunch moments was David Miller.

Miller's ability to contribute with some big hitting lower down the order was missing all through the tournament as he could muster just 136 runs from six matches at a strike rate of just 86.89 as he was soon dropped for the team's last few fixtures.

Sarfaraz Ahmed could be pipped to lead the side as he had a torrid season with the bat in the list of all the wicket-keepers for this edition of the tournament. While Pakistan were usually unpredictable, Sarfaraz seemed to have no confidence in his batting and sent pinch-hitters like Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz ahead of him.

Sarfaraz scored just 143 runs in 8 games and came a little too late for anyone's liking, at a time when Pakistan were down and out of the contest on most occasions.

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All-rounders - Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell

The strategy of playing just four specialist bowlers in the playing XI meant that the role of the all-rounders in the side, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, became extremely crucial to Australia's chances in the World Cup.

Marcus Stoinis had cemented his side in the team prior to the World Cup and was certain to play a big role with both bat and ball. However, he was in miserable form in the World Cup, scoring just 83 runs in 8 innings at an average of 13.83. He fared slightly better with the ball, picking up 7 wickets but gave away runs at an economy rate of 6.10.

Glenn Maxwell, one of the best spin all-rounders in the world was certainly not in the best of form all through this World Cup campaign. The 'Big Show' scored only 177 runs in 10 games at an average of 22.12 and failed to contribute with the ball either, finishing wicketless at the end of the tournament.

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Spinners - Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav

This surely wasn't a tournament for the spinners. Not even a single spinner made it to the list of the top 20 wicket-takers of the tournament. Among the spinners who botched up were Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and India's Kuldeep Yadav.

Rashid Khan, having played a huge role in Afghanistan's meteoric rise in world cricket was expected to lead the way on the bowling front but the tweaker looked completely out of rhythm.

Rashid ended the tournament with 7 wickets in nine games at an average of 59.42. He also registered the worst bowling figures in World Cup history when he conceded 110 runs in 9 overs against England, making it one tournament Rashid would want to forget in a haste.

Kuldeep Yadav was considered to be Virat Kohli's trump card in the World Cup. Kuldeep had deceived batsmen all over the world with his variations but he failed to make any major impact in this season.

Apart from a magic delivery that dismissed Babar Azam in India's clash against Pakistan, the chinaman had a forgettable tournament. Kuldeep picked just 6 wickets in seven games and lost his place in the playing XI towards the fag-end of the tournament.

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Fast bowlers - Kagiso Rabada, Hassan Ali

Kagiso Rabada is one of the best fast bowlers across formats in the modern era. With injuries to pacers Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi, South Africa banked on Kagiso Rabada to win matches for them.

Unfortunately, Rabada was far from his best in the World Cup. The Proteas quick did bowl a couple of menacing spells but he seemed to have run out of gas as the tournament progressed. Faf du Plessis, the South African skipper, felt that the IPL took a lot out of Rabada and was the prime reason for his poor show. In the end, Rabada finished with 11 wickets, but a lot more was expected ftom him.

Hassan Ali had a great start to his international career and was making a mark ever since he represented Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy. However, the 25-year-old had a torrid time at the World Cup.

He picked up just 2 wickets in four games at an economy rate of 7.75 and was all over the place with his wayward line and length.

Here is the underperforming XI in full -

Martin Guptill, Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Sarfaraz Khan (c & wk), Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Hassan Ali, Kuldeep Yadav

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