Year in Review: Flop ODI XI of year 2013

2) Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

(Matches – 7, Runs – 153, Average – 21.8, HS – 52, 100s – 0, 50s – 1)

It was no surprise that Gambhir’s highest knock of the season came at Rajkot, a place where (i) bowlers have been known to be traumatized to such a level where they feel afraid to even pick up the ball, (ii) ball-boys are actually part of the fielding team and also (iii) the only place in the world where Mitchell Johnson and Vinay Kumar are held in the same light. Leaving that knock aside, Gambhir averaged a meagre 16.83 in rest of the 6 matches that he played in and with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan both having solidified their ODI positions since then, a comeback for him in the ODI team looks as unlikely as Suresh Raina scoring a century at Gabba.

3) Asad Shafiq

Asad Shafiq

(Matches- 11, Runs- 166, Average- 15.09, HS- 84, 100s-0, 50s-1)

Asad Shafiq embodies everything that is Pakistani cricket. Supremely talented, gritty, dominating, flamboyant, exasperating, excruciating and inconsistent. He had 7 single-digit scores in 2013 and his highest score of 84 came against Ireland, a far cry from a player who scored 111 runs against an attack comprising the likes of Steyn, Philander and Morkel on a lively Cape Town track after Pakistan were reduced to 33-4. Disappointing.