The Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine reached its conclusion with Islamabad United beating Multan Sultans in the final at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi, on Monday.
Islamabad United, captained by Shadab Khan, claimed their third PSL title after winning their two trophies in 2016 and 2018 under the leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq.
As the fans were able to see thrilling encounters like Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars and many others, among all the brilliance and thrill, there were some players who couldn’t bear the load of expectations and had a tournament to forget.
Here is the PSL 9 Flop XI, a list containing players who failed to meet the expectations.
1. Alex Hales
Being associated with Islamabad United since 2018, Alex Hales is considered one of the most senior players in the team and the team looks upon him to deliver with the bat. While he has had performances in the past, Hales didn’t have the most memorable PSL 9 as the right-handed batter only scored 148 runs at an average of 14.8 and strike rate of 124.
2. Shan Masood (C)
The skipper of Karachi Kings, 2020 PSL winners, Shan Masood had a big responsibility on his shoulders to steer his team into the playoffs but the left-handed batter struggled badly and didn't have even one noteworthy performance with the bat. The 34-year-old could only amass 158 runs in 10 innings at a mediocre average of 15.8, and a strike rate of 105.
3. Mohammad Haris (wk)
While he did his duty with the bat in the second eliminator against Islamabad United, scoring 40 on 25 balls, the 22-year-old did, however, have a very average tournament. The wicketkeeper batter scored a total of 142 runs across 10 innings at a 15.7 average and 132 strike rate, which is way less than what was expected of him.
4. Rilee Rossouw
Given the opportunity to lead Quetta Gladiators for the first time, Rilee Rossouw did a brilliant job as a skipper to lead the Gladiators to the playoffs for the first time in the last four years. However, the Proteas star failed miserably with the bat, unable to score big even in one match. The left-handed batter amassed 148 runs in 10 innings at 16.4 average and 107 strike rate.
5- Tom Kohler-Cadmore
Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 325 runs in the PSL 8 and Peshawar Zalmi had high hopes from the explosive batter to once again step up and take his side to the playoffs but history couldn’t repeat itself as the right-handed batter struggled badly throughout the tournament and could only amass 121 runs in eight innings at an average of 15.12.
6- Sarfaraz Ahmed
The 2019 PSL-winning captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was under strict scrutiny for a long time over his below-par performances, one of the reasons why he was removed as the Gladiator's captain. However, things didn’t improve and in five innings he batted in PSL 9, he scored a mere 22 runs in the tournament at a 5.5 average.
7- Khushdil Shah
Khushdil Shah was retained by Multan Sultans due to his aggressive cricket, and the ability to score runs down the order. Not only did he fail to do that, the Bannu-born scored just 68 runs in nine innings. Other than the failure with the bat, Khushdil didn’t have the best time on the field too as he was in the spotlight due to his dropped catches.
8- Mohammad Nawaz
Mohammad Nawaz was picked in a platinum category by Karachi Kings and the 2020 PSL winners had high hopes from him but the 29-year-old couldn’t contribute either with the bar or the ball. Having played eight games and batted in six innings, Nawaz’s job was to finish matches for the Kings but he couldn’t score in triple digits, as the left-handed batter only amassed 88 runs. With the ball, he only managed to bag two wickets.
9- Mohammad Wasim Jr.
While it was Mohammad Wasim Jr’s six that took Quetta Gladiators to the PSL 9 playoffs, he did, however, not have the most memorable outing in the tournament. Being an all-rounder, it was expected of him to contribute with the bat as well as the ball but the right-armer failed to do both. He scored 30 runs in six innings with the bat and only picked nine wickets and 9.90 economy with the ball.
10- Luke Wood
Despite being able to take 12 wickets in 11 matches, Luke Wood wasn’t Peshawar Zalmi’s best weapon with the ball. The left-armer bowled with the economy of 8.24 and couldn’t bail his team out of key moments.
11- Salman Irshad
Yet another Peshawar Zalmi pacer failed to step up when needed most as Salman Irshad was one of the costliest bowlers of the PSL 9. The right-arm pacer picked only nine wickets from eight matches. Furthermore, he bowled with an economy of 10.37 which was the most among the top 23 bowlers in the tournament.
