The 2023 edition of the World Cup has seen many brilliant performances from established names like Virat Kohli, David Warner and others. But at the same time, there were also many disappointments when big names like Jos Buttler, Temba Bavuma and Babar Azam failed to live up to expectations. Here is the list of top five players who were supposed to perform but failed big time.
Jos Butler
Jos Buttler was supposed to defend the title won by Eoin Morgan in 2019. However, the start of the defense was flat as New Zealand beat the defending champions by nine wickets. Buttler was seen looking for ideas as his bowling changes didn’t work. Although he scored 43 runs in that match, since then things have gone from bad to worse for the Lancashire man as he only managed to score 95 more runs in the following innings at a lower average at 12.
Temba Bavuma
As captain, there was no doubt about Temba Bavuma’s ability to inspire his men, make the right bowling changes and create perfect pitch parameters to trap opposition batters. But where Bavuma failed was in batting, and because of that, South Africa suffered greatly. Not even a single fifty in eight innings and then a duck in the all-important semi-final meant Bavuma let his team down when it mattered most.
Babar Azam
With Babar Azam, it was the opposite as he was always able to do things with the bat, but with the captaincy, every change he made was disappointing. With 340 runs in nine innings at an average of 40, he could still achieve success in ODIs if the other batters played alongside him. However, others failed when he failed, and the bowlers failed hugely, which makes Babar look very bad as a captain and as a player as well. He failed to shine in big matches, which was his biggest downfall.
Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh was supposed to be a big surprise and a party animal for the big teams, if not a contender. They finished on sixth point in the World Cup Super League. However, with the pre-tournament chaos surrounding team selection, the focus has shifted.
Yet Shakib Al Hasan, the talismanic all-rounder who scored over 500 runs in the 2019 World Cup and also contributed remarkably with the ball, was expected to lead them well. However, it was his failure that became the focal point of Bangladesh’s poor performance. Shakib had only fifty-nine wickets in total in the seven matches he played. His injury has also become a major concern for the team.
Marc Bois
With just six wickets in seven matches, Mark Wood has failed miserably in this World Cup. Being England’s attack bowler in the absence of Jofra Archer, he was supposed to lead the pack but became too heavy to even be carried in the pack. Wood’s economy rate was never going to be the problem as he gave runs but also took wickets. But this time, it was his strike rate that was dismal to watch (54.6). The failure of Wood and Buttler with bat and ball has partly contributed to the failure of the England team in this World Cup as a whole.
