The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) reached its conclusion yesterday as the Mumbai Indians (MI) lifted their fifth title win a convincing win over the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the final.
While IPL 2020 saw the emergence of many young stars like Ishan Kishan and Devdutt Padikkal, other cricketers weren’t so lucky and damaged their future with the Indian cricket team thanks to their sub-par performances.
1. Shivam Dube – 129 runs and 4 wickets in IPL 2020
Shivam Dube has played a handful of games for the national team in the T20 format, and he was expected to shore up a rather weak RCB middle order in IPL 2020.
However, the all-rounder failed to deliver on this promise and scored just 129 runs at a strike rate of 122.85. He was often found wanting against the short ball and against quality spin, and apart from one or two free-flowing cameos, struggled to get going.
Dube didn’t seem to have the trust of captain Virat Kohli with the ball in hand as well and bowled just 54 balls, scalping 4 wickets in the process. The Mumbai man finds himself out of India’s squads for the upcoming tour of Australia, may not be making a return to the national team anytime soon.
2. Kuldeep Yadav – 1 wicket in IPL 2020
After a nightmare IPL 2019, Kuldeep Yadav was expected to come back strong and become a regular for KKR. However, the left-arm leg-spinner’s season was even worse as he scalped just 1 wicket in 5 games at an economy rate of 7.66.
Varun Chakravarthy was preferred ahead of Kuldeep by both Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik, and as a result, he was left out of India’s T20I squad for the Australia tour. Although he did find a place in the ODI and Test squads, the 25-year-old’s stock has taken a steep nosedive, especially with other promising wicket-taking options coming through the ranks.
Kuldeep is walking a tightrope at the moment, and even one bad performance or two might see him dropped from the national team.
3. Rishabh Pant – 343 runs in IPL 2020
Although Rishabh Pant‘s international career hasn’t quite taken off the way he’d have liked it to, he has always been a consistent performer in the IPL – until this season, that is. The wicket-keeper notched up a number of 20s and 30s to kick off his campaign, but failed to build on that and finished with just 343 runs at an average of 31.18.
Many of these runs came in the IPL 2020 final against MI, but the most concerning aspect about Pant’s batting this season was his strike rate, which lounged at an abysmal 113.95. The youngster did suffer an injury that kept him out of action for a few games, but when he did play, he was far from his best.
Pant was dropped from the ODI and T20I squads for the Australia tour, and if KL Rahul and Sanju Samson do well, the door might slowly close on him.
4. Dinesh Karthik – 169 runs in IPL 2020
Dinesh Karthik hasn’t been a regular in the Indian team for a while now, but with the team desperately needing a finisher since the retirement of MS Dhoni, he still has a chance to make yet another comeback. But a disastrous IPL season in which he scored just 169 runs at an average of 14.08 may just have dashed his dreams altogether.
Karthik was found out against spin on a number of occasions, and he even relinquished captaincy midway through the season to concentrate on his batting. The decision didn’t pay off, as KKR missed out on the playoffs and their former captain’s torrid run continued.
5. Prithvi Shaw – 228 runs in IPL 2020
Prithvi Shaw was another player who had a nightmare IPL season, as he scored just 228 runs at an average of 17.53. The young opener’s foot movement and composure were non-existent, and he was a sitting duck against the short ball despite being a back-foot dominant player.
Shaw has been named in India’s Test squad for the tour of Australia, but his woeful IPL 2020 campaign must have severely dented his confidence. The Mumbai batsman had been named ‘a combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag’, but that comparison is looking increasingly foolish by the day.
Shaw has to make a number of technical adjustments if he is stake a claim for a regular spot in the Indian team.
