Amid all the veterans and future stars who lit up the recently concluded World Cup, some players couldn’t deliver as per their potential and the burden of expectations placed on them. Here’s a World Cup 2023 flop XI of individuals who underperformed in the competition.

Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka)

Kusal Perera couldn’t live up to the expectations of providing blazing starts, looking horribly out of touch. The 78 against Australia and the fastest World Cup 2023 fifty, off 22 balls, against New Zealand were pretty much it for him. With five single-digit scores in seven outings, he pips the misfiring Imam-ul-Haq and Jonny Bairstow to be one of the openers.

Temba Bavuma (South Africa)

With 637 runs at an average of 79.63 and a strike rate of 105, Temba Bavuma entered the World Cup as the leading ODI run-scorer for South Africa in 2023. At the tournament, he made just 145 runs at an underwhelming average of 18.12. While he led South Africa to a semi-final finish, his batting was a major letdown.

Joe Root (England)

From being the champions in 2019 to scrambling their way to qualifying for the 2025 Champions trophy, one of the reasons for England’s fall of gargantuan proportion was the undoing of their highest run-aggregator in the previous edition, Joe Root.

With 312 runs at an average of 30.66, Root was a shadow of his former self. He edges past Kusal Mendis, who started well before fizzling out when he was made captain during the tournament, to find a place on this unwanted list.

Tom Latham (New Zealand)

A rare Test opener to have earned a name as a middle-order batter in limited-overs cricket, Latham only managed 170 runs from 10 matches while averaging a paltry 25.83. However, he had captained New Zealand in most games in Kane Williamson’s absence because of injuries, playing a role in his team’s entry to the semi-final.

Jos Buttler (England)

Buttler looked clueless both as a skipper and a batter, and the results are reflected in England’s position at the points table. His 138 runs from nine innings at a below-par average of 15.33 cut a sorry figure for his reputation as an all-time great of the format. Despite the World Cup debacle, Buttler hinted at continuing with the leadership.

Liam Livingstone (England)

Selected in the England squad for his big-hitting prowess at the end, in addition to his ability to bowl decent spin, Livingstone failed to match up the hype, scoring just 60 runs from six matches at a shoddy average of 10. His three wickets came at 52.67 apiece, while he went for 5.44 an over.

Shadab Khan (Pakistan)

Pakistan came into the World Cup with the headache of their lead spinner and vice-captain Shadab Khan terribly out of form. After having a lacklustre Asia Cup, he was expected to turn things around but failed, averaging a shocking 118.50 while going for 6.28 an over for his two wickets in six outings. Against Australia, Pakistan dropped him for Usama Mir.

With the bat, he scored 43 runs off 36 balls against South Africa, perhaps his only noteworthy contribution before a concussion sidelined him for the rest of the game and clashes against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Moeen Ali (England)

Across six matches, Moeen scored 95 runs at a strike rate of 74 while going wicketless in his first four features before claiming 3-42 and 2-60 against the Netherlands and Pakistan, respectively, to cap off a wobbly tournament.

Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)

Mustafizur was unable to emulate his 2019 World Cup exploits. In stark contrast to his numbers from last time, when he picked 20 wickets from eight games to become the fourth-highest wicket-taker, he had to settle for five from eight matches this time. He bowled decently from time to time but never looked like turning a game on its head like he had previously.

Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

While Rauf took 16 scalps from nine matches, he leaked 533 runs in the process, the most conceded in a single edition by anyone, surpassing Adil Rashid’s 526 in 2019. Teams feasted on his raw pace and lack of variations, proving his ineffectiveness as one of the reasons behind Pakistan’s group-stage exit.

Mark Wood (England)

Expected to be England’s strike bowler in Jofra Archer’s absence, Wood flopped with dreadful returns of six wickets from seven matches while going for 6.46 an over and averaging 58.16. Like Rauf, his extra pace without variations on placid Indian wickets favoured the batters.

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