IPL 2019: Stars and Flops of the eliminated teams

Kolkata Knight Riders:

The man let down by the team- Andre Russell

Stars: Andre Russell and Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn with his aggregate of 405 runs can surely be called a star performer amidst the abysmal run that the other KKR batsmen had this season, he would still be two leagues below this giant man. Being the top scorer, best bowler, finisher, and the monstrous pinch-hitter of the team, Andre Russell is a top contender for the most valuable player award this season. However, the rest of the "Russell+10 team" did nothing for the lone swordsman, and just when he faced a rare failure off his last game, his teammates let him down one more time, to see their team crashing out of the playoff race.

A special mention to Shubhaman Gill, who throughout the tournament proved that with the bat in hand he can work out wonders even in tense situations.

Flops: Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Dinesh Karthik

Flighted deliveries are Kuldeep's weapon of choice, but the flat tracks of Kolkata blunted them down. It was a disappointing season for him, as he returned with just 4 wickets off his 9 matches. The form of the premier spinner is a huge concern for the Indian world cup contingent as well. Lockie Ferguson was supposed to lead the pace battery, but his own lackluster outing ensured that he was silently dropped from the playing XI, after returning just 2 wickets in 5 matches. Karthik's captaincy was often criticized for being laid-back. His batting was also equally abysmal and barring the lone 97 scored towards the latter part of the tournament, his returns were 156 runs in 13 matches, which are woefully bad stats for any top-order batsman.

Plenty of thinking will go into the post-season analysis for the teams and six months from now, some squads may even sport a completely revamped look. Let us hope that the tournament quality keeps improving as it has always been in the IPL.