World Cup 2023: Babar to Buttler - Five Players who have flopped so far

The World Cup 2023 is set to have 48 matches. 45 of them will be in the group stages and three in the knockout stages, including two semi-finals and the Grand Final

Till Monday (October 23), we have had 22 group stage matches done and dusted. Hence, today, it will be the 23rd group stage match, thus just getting past the halfway mark of the group stages.

ICC World Cup 2023: Where Teams Stand

So far we've seen some revelating things in this World Cup. The hosts India are currently on on top of the table with 10 points after five matches, winning all of their games so far. The Kiwis are second, followed by South Africa, while Australia occupy the last semifinal spot.

England, the defending champions are currently at the bottom of the table with just two points after 4 matches. Pakistan, who started quite decently with two victories, also have found themselves struggling with a hat trick of defeats.

Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Bangladesh have just one victory each to their name. The success story so far has been Afghanistan, who have beaten two former world champions in England and Pakistan and have created shockwaves with their superlative performance.

World Cup 2023: Five Biggest Flops so far

There have been some top-notch performers who have set the tournament ablaze, while some big names have also gone missing so far. Let's take a look at five of them who have monumentally misfired till date in this World Cup.

Jos Buttler (England)

Tipped as a potential highest scorer in this World Cup, England captain Jos Buttler has been an underwhelming performer thus far in this tournament. Buttler has managed only 87 runs in four innings with a paltry average of less than 22, thus reflecting his team's performance, as they are languishing at the bottom of the table.

England have failed to produce their goods in the tournament and have been out of sorts in almost all of their matches. His captaincy has also looked out of sorts. Buttler is a big part of the English jigsaw, and he will have to turn things around soon, both for himself and his team.

Sam Curran (England)

Another player who has massively underperformed is England's Sam Curran. The 25-year-old has been regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the last two years. But this tournament has been a poor reflection of his talent.

Curran has gone for plenty of runs with the ball and has scored only a few with the bat. His economy of over 8 in bowling with just 2 wickets in three matches, and a batting average of less than 12 truly depicts the horror story of England.

Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Pakistan Captain Babar Azam has scored 157 runs with an average of just over 31. Apparently, it may seem that he is having a decent outing with the bat, but it is far from the truth. Babar's other counterparts, such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli has scored of runs while the Pakistan captain has just so far scored two fifties in five innings.

He scored a 50 against India and then a 74 which came in their last match in a defeat against Afghanistan. His batting, captaincy, team selection - all have been baffling as Pakistan are staring at another early exit on the global stage.

There was a lot of expectation from the batter Babar in this tournament, but so far it may be the captaincy which has taken the toll on the class batter that he is.

Steve Smith (Australia)

Steve Smith has also faced a tough time in the tournament. The Australia batter has only managed 72 runs in the first four matches. He is yet to score a half-century and averages only 18, which is a concern for them.

Although Australia have won their last two matches, they are still in a mid-table muddle and Smith's form will be crucial in their road ahead.

Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)

Bangladesh's left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman has struggled in the World Cup. There's a lot of expectation of him, but so far, we have seen Mustafizur picking up just two wickets in 4 matches. The Bangladeshi bowler also averages more than 80 with an economy of almost 5.5.

His lack of wickets has been surprising, and it has hampered Bangladesh's progression in this World Cup. He was supposed to lead the line along with Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed, but unfortunately, it hasn't happened so far.