Cricket World Cup 2019: Rashid Khan, Hasan Ali among the biggest flops of the tournament

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  • Not the impact Rashid Khan would have expected.

    The round-robin phase of the 2019 ICC World Cup has come to an end with four teams left standing.

    The tournament has seen some stellar individual displays with the records for the most runs as well as the most wickets in a single World Cup edition under threat.

    However, there have been also many players who have failed to live up to expectations and have performed well below their standards. Here, we look at the five biggest World Cup flops so far.

    ANDRE RUSSELL

    The Windies all-rounder came into the tournament on the back of a sensational IPL campaign for Kolkata Knight Riders where he plundered sixes for fun.

    However, Russell failed to deliver the goods with the bat in the tournament before limping out with an injured knee.

    The Jamaican could only muster a high score of 21 runs in four outings before the curtains came down on his campaign. While he was more than handy with the ball in hand, Russell failed to provide the lower order fireworks for West Indies and was guilty of some atrocious shot-making to throw his wickets away.

    Russell went missing with the bat.

    Russell went missing with the bat.

    MASHRAFE MORTAZA

    The Bangladesh skipper has been a brilliant servant over the years but his output on the field has lately been restricted to just his captaincy nous.

    The heavily strapped Mortaza was able to pick just the sole wicket with the ball in his eight outings and that came against England.

    The 35-year-old did oversee a promising campaign for Bangladesh which saw them pick up four wins but he was a mere passenger with the ball in hand.

    The veteran is surely in the twilight of his career now and an international retirement cannot be far away given his recent foray into politics.

    Mortaza has declines drastically as a player.

    Mortaza has declines drastically as a player.

    MARTIN GUPTILL

    The New Zealand opener still has a chance to turn his tournament around but he has failed to cover himself in glory so far.

    Both Kiwi openers have been disappointing but Guptill more so than Colin Munro. The Black Caps stalwart is usually a reliable performer for the ODI side but he has failed to show up in the World Cup bar his unbeaten 73 against Sri Lanka in the campaign opener.

    His subsequent seven innings have yielded just the 93 runs and he has already bagged two ducks in the tournament. Luckily for Guptill and the Kiwis, skipper Kane Williamson has been in stellar form and mitigated the damage done by the openers’ poor form.

    Guptill has been out of sorts completely.

    Guptill has been out of sorts completely.

    RASHID KHAN

    The leg-spin sensation was expected to be Afghanistan’s ace in the pack in the World Cup but he barely created a flutter in the tournament.

    Rashid was completely overshadowed by the younger Mujeeb Ur Rahman and was able to pick up just the six wickets in his nine appearances.

    The 20-year-old was taken to the cleaners by Eoin Morgan in the loss where he finished with the most expensive figures in World Cup history after conceding 110 runs in just nine overs.

    He did have his moments but they were very few and far in between for a bowler who is ranked No1 in the T20I format.

    Seven wickets in total for Rashid.

    Six wickets in total for Rashid.

    HASAN ALI

    Just two years ago Hasan Ali finished as the top wicket-taker in Pakistan’s 2017 ICC Champions Trophy triumph but he looked a shadow of that bowler in England this time around.

    The 25-year-old had a poor time in the 5-0 ODI series loss to England before the World Cup and his slump continued in the tournament where he made just four appearances.

    The right-arm pacer was dropped after picking up just two wickets in those four matches while conceding runs at a rate of 7.75 runs an over.

    He was displaced by Shaheen Afridi after being plundered for runs by India with his stock hitting an all-time low. Looks totally bereft of confidence and rhythm at the moment and his place in the squad could be under threat going forward.

    Hasan Ali looks a shadow of his former self.

    Hasan Ali looks a shadow of his former self.

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