World Champions in ODIs but Flops in IPL
Australia won their 5th World Cup earlier this year. James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, and Aaron Finch were all part of that Australian team that lifted the trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. But in the IPL they have been down and in some cases out too.
Rajasthan Royals dropped James Faulkner on Friday against Mumbai. Faulkner was the Man of the Match in the World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand earlier this year on the 29th of March. Wait! Let's just get this straight. A man who was the best performer in the final of the biggest tournament of the game cannot make the playing XI of one of the 8 sides participating in a domestic tournament? That doesn't sound right.(IPL 2015: Full Coverage)
Is Faulkner all alone on this worn out Australian ship that has sailed to India to participate in the richest cricket tournament in the World? Glenn Maxwell, the firecracker who lit up the sky in the 2014 edition of the IPL, with breathtaking shots has also been benched for the last 3 games Punjab have played. The big show has been a flop show this IPL with scores like 7, 6, 15, 33 and 1. In the previous IPL after the first 5 games he had scores of 95, 89, 95, 15 & 6.
The Captain of Rajasthan Shane Watson didn't even play in the first 4 matches. Reports said he was injured but Former Australian Cricketer Dean Jones suggested he was dropped.
Mitchell Johnson, the fierce Australian took 3 wickets in the final of the World Cup vs New Zealand but Johnson hasn't been half as effective in the IPL as he was for Australia in helping them win the biggest prize in World Cricket. No wonder Kings XI Punjab dropped him vs Delhi.
Aaron Finch, had scores of 5 and 8 for Mumbai before he was injured to the extent that he could take no more part in the IPL.
So what's gone wrong with the Aussies who are the World Champions?
Talking about the Punjab team, which has the likes of Bailey, Johnson & Maxwell in their arsenal, Dean Jones told NDTV 'I think the fact that they had a lot of Australians in the team hasn't helped. They have come off a very long World Cup a very long campaign against the Indians etc. They might be feeling tired & might be looking for other places to be. But my point is this - I have been hard on Yuvraj, I have been hard on Karthik but also to the Australians. We're talking about, Mitchell Johnson, Bailey and all these guys. If you're going to accept the big bucks you have to do the business. And this ruins your reputation for next year, for your next payment you might get. I know you might be tired. But their performance hasn't helped. The performance by particularly the international players has been really poor.'
Punjab is currently at the bottom of the points table having lost 6 out of the 8 matches they have played this season but it's clear the fact that it is a side dominated by Aussies has hurt them.
'It is like a race horse trainer. It is about preparing your players and getting them ready for that first particular event and it is about hitting the ground running. Win 4 in your first 6 games and you're away. Sadly for Kings XI Punjab in this opportunity they haven't been ready and I think the World Cup hangover has hurt them massively' said Jones.
The one thing that sets the Aussies apart though is the way they fight till the end. So don't be surprised if the Kangaroos jump right back into the IPL and hop all over their opponents.
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