3 batters who came into the 2023 World Cup in excellent form but had a disappointing run

The dust is slowly settling on the 2023 World Cup, which featured a number of notable performances in the batting department.

Virat Kohli finished with the most runs in a single edition of the World Cup, shattering plenty of records along the way. From the Indian team, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul came up with productive campaigns as well. David Warner, Quinton de Kock and Rachin Ravindra were some of the other names who had prolific runs in the ICC event.

At the same time, however, a few big names couldn't do justice to their pedigree during the World Cup. Even though they seemed to be in excellent nick ahead of the competition, they couldn't live up to their billing on the big stage.

Here are three batters who came into the 2023 World Cup in excellent form but had a disappointing run in the marquee tournament.

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#3 Shubman Gill

India's young opener finished the campaign on a disappointing note.

354 runs at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 106.94, with four fifties — it might be harsh to call a campaign that had these numbers disappointing. But Shubman Gill had set such high standards for himself in the lead-up to the World Cup that it's safe to say he was underwhelming.

To put Gill's World Cup run into context, he notched up five centuries, including a double ton, in the calendar year before the quadrennial event began, averaging well above 70. He plundered runs against quality bowling attacks in New Zealand and Australia apart from a prolific run in the 2023 Asia Cup.

Gill did essay a superb knock in the semifinal against New Zealand but played a terrible shot to be dismissed in the summit clash. And while he got starts throughout the league stage, a three-figure score eluded him.

To be fair to the 24-year-old, though, he dealt with a bout of dengue at the start of the World Cup and would've definitely felt the effects of the same.

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#2 Devon Conway

Devon Conway was dismissed by Mohammed Shami in the semifinal.

Another player whose World Cup numbers weren't poor by any means, Devon Conway, managed 372 runs at an average of 41.33 and a strike rate of 101.64. But most of those runs came in a solitary knock of 152* against England, which was also the first game of the tournament. After that, it was all downhill for the left-hander.

Conway was in a marauding mood ahead of the World Cup. He hit a century in each of his last three series before the marquee tournament, averaging well above 45 in all of those assignments. He was expected to lead New Zealand's charge at the top of the order.

However, as Ravindra and Will Young flourished at the other end, Conway wasn't at his consistent best. The Blackcaps were eliminated at the semifinal stage, with Mohammed Shami dismissing the southpaw once again.

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#1 Temba Bavuma

Temba Bavuma couldn't buy a run at the 2023 World Cup.

Temba Bavuma was one player who performed well below expectations in the 2023 World Cup. The South African skipper tallied just 145 runs at an average of 18.13 and a strike rate of 73.6 as the Proteas crashed out in the semifinals. He also dealt with injury and illness over the course of the campaign.

Ahead of the World Cup, Bavuma was collecting runs for fun. In the three series he played in the lead-up to the tournament, he averaged 60, 144 and 72.33, and his strike rate was well above 100 in two of those. The opener also had three centuries in this period.

It wasn't to be at the World Cup, however, with Bavuma struggling even as the rest of the South African batting lineup piled on the runs.