The cash-rich Indian Premier League has thrown up some exciting players in the last three years and the same has been the case in the fourth edition where we have seen the likes of Paul Valthaty, Rahul Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Siddarth Trivedi. While many have proved their ability with some scintillating performances, some of the established stars have looked like fading away.
Here are few big name players who have been under par in this edition of the tournament:
Graeme Smith: The former South African ODI skipper has always been a consistent customer while opening the batting. And that was the reason the Pune Warriors brought him so that he can provide them with some breathtaking starts. But the World Cup debacle seems to have taken a toll on him and he has not even been a regular with the team. He has just played four matches in the tournament so far and has scored 42 runs at an average of 10.50. Pune has not been able to get the best out of him and that is also one of the major reason that Pune Warriors find themselves at the wrong end of the table.
Kieron Pollard: This explosive T20 batsman was a revelation in the last edition of the IPL. He produced some brilliant innings that helped the Mumabi Indians reach the finals but somehow in IPL-4 he has been unable to prove his true class. He was one of the four players to be retained by the Mumbai franchisee, but somehow he has not been able to live up to his expectations. In bowling, he has got them breakthroughs but he has not been consistent enough to prove his worth. He has been brilliant while fielding but he has not given the stability to the batting order that Mumbai expected of him.
Tillakaratne Dilshan: With his aggression, strong wrists and brilliant timing, Tillakaratne Dilshan in the past has proved that he is one of the most exciting batsmen in the game today. His rise from an average cricketer to a star batsman is a fairytale in itself. Dilshan who set the last edition on fire with his batting has been a big dissapointment for the Royal Challengers. Apart from one innings in which he scored an unbeaten 59, he has failed miserably in the rest. In 10 innings he has just been able to score 226 runs at an average of 28.25. The man who introduced the famous 'Dilscoop' has not been able to live up to his repuation in this season at least.
Eoin Morgan: After his superb performances in ODIs and and T20 for England, everyone thought Kolkata Knight Riders have done a cunning piece of business by roping in Morgan. Despite having the reputation of being a finisher, he has been forced to provide his services as an opener and he has been a big dissapointment at the top of the innings. He started of well by scoring a match-winning 66 but after that his graph has taken a blip and he has just been able to score 137 runs at an average of 15.22. Moragan's inability to perform at the top of the order has put a question mark on the Knight Riders' title charge.
Adam Gilchrist: It's the duty of a captain to lead his team from the front but one of the deadliest hitters of the ball of his time has been ablsolutely poor in this edition. Gilchrist's mind-blowing top order hitting apart from being a good wicketkeeper inspired the Punjab farnchisee to snap him at a good price but he has failed to provide Kings XI Punjab with the starts his team was expecting of him. Though they are still in contention of qualifying for the play-offs it has been a team effort that has led to them to this stage and has covered up for Gilchrist's failures.
