5 players who re-invented themselves in the World Cup

The 2015 World Cup concluded on Sunday with Australia beating New Zealand by 7 wickets in a one sided encounter at the MCG. With that, Australia clinched their fifth World Cup title and also became the second host nation after India to win the trophy.For his impressive spell in the batting powerplay, James Faulkner was awarded the Man of the Match while Mitchell Starc was awarded the Man of the Tournament for some excellent bowling throughout the tournament.While there were quite a few players who were at their usual best and playing the way they always do, we got to see a reboot of sorts from some other players. These players, who have looked to be struggling in the past, raised their game for the occasion of the World Cup.Let’s take a look at 5 such players:

#5 Mohammad Shami

Mohammad Shami picked up 17 wickets at an average of 17.29 and an economy rate of 4.82 in the World Cup. In almost every game, he made early inroads with the new ball and set the game up nicely for the slower bowlers. He consistently bowled at a speed in excess of 140 KPH and swung the ball as well. He also made good use of the bouncy Australian wickets as he peppered the batsmen with a lot of short pitched stuff.

Given that the Bengal pacer was the leading wicket taker in ODIs in 2014, there wasn’t too much doubt about his capability. However, he had looked listless for the major part of the tour of Australia. He was guilty of bowling too many short deliveries. Moreover, it seemed as if his line had wavered as too many of his deliveries drifted towards the leg stump. There were many who had felt that the 25-year-old would be a liability for the Men in Blue.

However, from the very first game in the World Cup, Shami was right on the money. He constantly pitched most of his deliveries on a good length or on a fuller length. Moreover, a major chunk of these deliveries were either in the channel outside the off stump or on the off and middle line. He effectively used well-directed short ball as well and troubled many batsmen with his pace and bounce.

#4 Mahmudullah

Mahmudullah’s form with the bat was one of the major reasons why Bangladesh made it to the knockout stages of the World Cup. In 6 games, he scored 365 runs at an excellent average of 73 and a strike rate of 81.84. In the game against England, he created history by becoming the first Bangladeshi batsman to score a World Cup hundred. He followed it up with another brilliant ton in the next game against New Zealand.

Though the 29-year-old had an impressive run in the World Cup, he had a rather struggle-filled year in 2014. In 16 ODIs played in 2014, he scored a mere 294 runs at an average of 26.73. Interestingly, he had not scored a single ODI hundred prior to the two centuries he scored in the World Cup. One of the major reasons for his stellar success in the World Cup is his promotion up the order. Often, he has batted at number 6 and number 7 which really did not allow the Bangladesh team to make full use of his batting potential.

Mahmudullah’s promotion up the order brought about a complete change in his approach as he looked to bide his time in the middle. He seemed to have put a price on his wicket and he showed the willingness to bat on till the very end.

#3 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 13 wickets in the World Cup at an average of 25.38 and an economy rate of 4.29. Though he wasn’t the leading wicket taker for India, he was India’s most lethal weapon in the tournament. The reason why he fell behind in the wickets tally is that batsmen tried to play his overs out quietly and attacked the other bowlers, thereby allowing them to cash in. However, his spells produced vital breakthroughs just when the team needed them the most.

Ashwin’s impressive showing in the World Cup left many pleasantly surprised as he had struggled on two previous tours to Australia. Often, the 28-year old had been criticised for trying out too many variations, one of the reasons why he did not have too many wickets to show in the months leading up to the World Cup. There was a feeling that an overuse of his variations meant that there wasn’t too much of a mystery around his bowling and the batsmen had figured him out.

In the World Cup though, the offie bowled a lot of the off-break, his stock delivery. He was also a lot slower through the air and didn’t shy away from tossing the ball up. Ashwin also concentrated on bowling more of his deliveries from over the wicket rather than bowling from round the wicket, something that he used to do a lot in the past.

#2 Mitchell Starc

With 22 wickets at an average of 10.18 and an economy rate of 3.50, Mitchell Starc finished as the leading wicket taker of the recently concluded World Cup. However, only a few months back, Shane Warne had described him as being too soft.

According to the Aussie legend, Starc needed to change his body language and be stronger. In fact, ever since Mitchell Johnson’s resurgence in the previous Ashes, it seemed as if Johnson was the face of the Australian bowling attack.

However, Starc’s strong showing in the World Cup has propelled him to the Number 1 spot in the ICC ODI bowlers’ rankings. Right through the tournament, the 25-year-old ran in with a lot of steam and was a nightmare for all batsmen. It seemed as if Warne’s words had an effect on him as he showed a lot of aggression as well. Often he could be seen exchanging a word or two with the batsmen.

In fact, he made his most audacious move in the final when he constantly pitched the ball up in spite of the fact that Brendon McCullum was charging down the track – a move that worked for him as he did McCullum in with an excellent yorker.

#1 Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir picked up 15 wickets in the World Cup at an average of 21.53 and an economy rate of 4.23. Along with Daniel Vettori, he was the leading wicket taker among spinners in the tournament. However, two years ago, Tahir had a disastrous tour of Australia as he failed to pick up a single wicket in his only test on Australian soil. In fact, his performance in that Test was so appalling that the legendary Richie Benaud had refused to recognise him as a bowler.

In a team that consisted of bigwigs like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, it was Tahir who provided the crucial breakthroughs time and again. He was instrumental in keeping things tight in the middle overs, an area in which South Africa haven’t had much success over the years. Moreover, the 36-year-old used his variations to great effect in the World Cup, something that hasn’t worked for him as well in the Test arena.

While an overuse of variations isn’t very rewarding in Test cricket wherein pressure is applied by way of bowling a consistent line and length, the pacy nature of an ODI game provides the luxury of using variations at will.