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While the IPL 2022 produced some blockbuster performances from seasoned campaigners as well as the young guns, quite a few of them failed to live up to the reputation.
Here’s a look at the six biggest flops of the just-concluded season. Notably, each of the six candidates was retained by the respective franchises ahead of the auctions, three of them being first-choice picks.
Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
341 runs at 22.73, SR: 116, 50s: 2, HS: 73
Kohli’s aggregate in IPL 2022 was his lowest since 2010, with the highest run-scorer in the competition’s history registering six single-digit scores, including three first-ball ducks in the season. The strike-rate stood at a lowly 116, and the former India and RCB captain seemingly discovered varied ways of getting out.
His 54-ball 73 in a must-win last league encounter against Gujarat Titans revived hopes of him being back to his best, but the run didn’t quite continue in the playoffs, and RCB crashed out of the tournament with a defeat to RR in Qualifier 2.
Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
268 runs at 19.14, SR: 120.18, HS: 48
Rohit’s dry run was one of the major factors in Mumbai Indians’ most disappointing IPL campaign yet, which saw them win just four of the 10 league games to finish at the bottom of the table.
The MI skipper registered six single-digit scores and failed to cross fifty even once for the first time in 15 editions. Ishan Kishan’s poor form didn’t help either, adding further pressure on the skipper in charge of a team undergoing a transitional phase.
Kane Williamson (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
216 runs at 19.64, SR: 93.51, 50s: 1, HS: 57
Rather surprisingly, the New Zealander persisted with opening the batting alongside young Abhishek Sharma, despite Rahul Tripathi going great guns and he himself being used to playing the anchor’s role at No.3. Williamson, who led the run-scoring charts while leading SRH’s run to the final in 2018, struck at a lowly 93.51, which exerted pressure on the team’s middle-order.
Barring using Umran Malik’s raw pace in the middle-overs, the bowling changes and calculations misfired too, a classic example being Washington Sundar being tasked to bowl the 20th over against Andre Russell in a must-win game, with the West Indies all-rounder smashing three sixes to set up a match-winning score.
Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)
144 runs at 14.40, SR: 107.46, HS: 25
Pollard appeared far from his dominant best in a creaking MI lower-middle order. His 5-ball 22* against KKR, which included two mistimed top-edged sixes, was one of the three innings in which he crossed 20.
A low strike-rate at just above run-a-ball cost the side more than once, before the 35-year-old was sidelined towards the end of the league stage, making way for the impressive Tim David, who seems to have taken over the baton. Pollard bagged four wickets from the six games he bowled in while conceding runs at 9.
Varun Chakravarthy (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Six wickets at 55.33; ER: 8.51, BBI: 1/22
The mystery spinner bagged 35 wickets across the 2020 and 2021 editions, earning a spot in the national side for the T20 World Cup 2021 and a retention contract with KKR. However, the form reversed significantly at IPL 2022, with the bowler bagging just six wickets from the 39 overs bowled across 11 matches, despite Sunil Narine’s outstanding restrictive bowling.
In an extended bad patch mid-season, Chakravarthy went for 119 runs off the nine overs bowled across three games, and was at the receiving end of Quinton de Kock’s assault in KKR’s final league outing.
Mohammed Siraj (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Nine wickets at 57.11, ER: 10.08, BBI: 2/30
Siraj couldn’t quite assist the impressive Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel in RCB’s pace attack, which mounted pressure on the rest of the bowler and the captain far too often. The season began with an expensive 2/59 against Punjab Kings and a 0/51 outing against MI followed two games later.
He conceded 31 runs from two overs at the start of RCB’s defence of 157/8 in Qualifier 2, which helped RR set the tone early, dashing the team’s hopes of entering their fourth final.
For the first time since his debut in 2017, he ended a season with an economy over 10. The right-arm quick conceded 31 sixes in IPL 2022 – the most by a bowler in a single edition.
Also read 👉 IPL 2022: Top 10 moments of the season
👉 Top 5 revelations of Indian Premier League 2022
