ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 players who failed to live up to expectations

The 2017 Champions Trophy has finally concluded with Pakistan humbling India by a massive margin of 180 runs in the Final at the Kennington Oval in London. The tournament has been an absolute spectacle with bottom-ranked teams rising to the occasion and giving the big guns a run for their money.

Going into the prestigious tournament, several players were expected to live up to their reputation and make match-winning contributions for their teams. But many of them crumbled during important stages of the game and failed to shepherd their team.

In our article today, we take a look at the five players who didn’t quite perform as per expectations.

#5 AB de Villiers

There’s little doubt that AB de Villiers is the most skilful batsman doing the rounds in all formats of the game and is rated among the best in the business. However, he has had a rough time of it during the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy, hosted by England.

Captaining the South African side, De Villiers led his team to a thumping victory in the opening game of the tournament but slumped to defeat against India and Pakistan to crash out of the tournament. Even with the willow ABD hardly found any sort of momentum.

Scoring a mere 20 runs in three matches at an average of 6.66 doesn’t define the class of the individual. Factoring in the destructive power that the Proteas batsman possesses, he hardly lived up to his potential of demolishing oppositions.

#4 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin failed to deliver much

Ravichandran Ashwin has been a key to many of India’s scintillating shows in International cricket. Being the leading spinner, he was expected to a vital component of the Indian bowling repertoire and lead from the front as he has done for so many occasions.

Nevertheless, he was a touch off the radar with his off-breaks, unable to put any sort of pressure on the batsman. The result was that he was neither able to pick up wickets nor was able to put a lid on the flow of runs.

Even during the final he was taken to the cleaners by the Pakistan batsmen and went for 70 runs in his 10 overs without a wicket. Over the course of the tournament, Ashwin has picked up a solitary wicket at a dismal average of 167.

#3 Jason Roy

Jason Roy’s early departure from the IPL didn’t pay any dividend

Jason Roy’s form was the only concern for the England cricket team during the four games they have played during the Champions Trophy. Opening the batting for England, Roy hardly got going with his fearless stroke-play and never got into his groove.

The South African-born batsman was inducted into the side after England’s debacle in the 2015 ICC World Cup. Since then, Roy has turned out to be an integral part of their setup through his aggressive approach towards the game.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, however, Roy could only garner 18 runs in three games with a highest score of 13. He was also left out of the side for their semi-final clash against Pakistan and was replaced by Jonathan Bairstow.

#2 Moises Henriques

Henriques couldn’t get going in England

Moises Henriques was drafted into the Australian team as an all-rounder, who could turn out to be more than handy in English conditions. However, he turned out to be a disappointment on part of Australia during the course of their group games.

In three matches, Henriques could only manage 35 runs while picking up one wicket in the 11 overs he bowled in the event. With lacklustre performances to show for, Henriques will find it difficult to hold his position in the Australian team.

Australia will be locking horns with England for the Ashes from November and it will be interesting to see whether the all-rounder from New South Wales gets another opportunity or not.

#1 Martin Guptill

Guptill failed to capitalise on his starts

Martin Guptill is known as one of the world’s most ferocious and destructive batsmen who can take apart any bowling attack with his adventurous display of stroke play. For New Zealand, he has been a consistent performer and has been pivotal to the Kiwis’ victories in all forms of the game.

Nonetheless, the right-handed batsman from Auckland had been rusty with the bat and failed to pile on the big scores. In all the games, Guptill got off to healthy starts but failed to convert them into substantial ones.

With scores of 26, 27 and 33 against Australia, England and Bangladesh respectively, Guptill scored 86 runs at an average of 28.66. On pitches which suited strokeplay to the core, Guptill played with a strike-rate of 95.55, which’s below par, taking into account the standards he set for himself.