They've just not turned up this season. If 2019's been tepid for a few of them, the others have simply blown cold. Each player has featured in the majority of their franchise's matches, but the big scores or stellar bowling efforts have been few and far between.

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A big worry: Three of them are bound for the 2019 World Cup with Team India. Well, the match-winner potential is certainly there, going by previous IPL editions. Whether they've saved their best for the last (read the crunch phase of IPL 2019 ) remains to be seen. For the time being, they take the field as our 'flop squad'.

CAPTAIN

SURESH RAINA (Chennai Super Kings): He may have shepherded his team's chase against Kolkata with his only fifty of the tournament (also his only unbeaten knock), but Raina's been mostly patchy throughout all the 12 matches. Even after three 30+ scores, his average stands at 22.45. He gets the vote as skipper of the underperformers, having lost both matches he's stood in for MS Dhoni.

BATSMEN

KEDAR JADHAV (Chennai Super Kings): The near run-a-ball 58 during the loss to Mumbai is a thing of the past now. Since then, he's been dismissed five out of the seven times that he's walked out to bat. His total of 162 runs (at 20.25) is the lowest among Chennai's top-order batsman. Alert: He's heading to England and Wales with Team India.

DAVID MILLER (Kings XI Punjab): It's always difficult to follow the act of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul at the top. But this season, even when the opportunity presented itself, the hard-hitting, former Punjab captain has come up short. The only fifty of his campaign came during the defeat against Kolkata. Two 40+ scores and four single-digit scores later, his average stands at a disappointing 28.85.

SHUBMAN GILL (Kolkata Knight Riders): He was touted as the next big thing for Kolkata, but barring that classy 65, while opening against Delhi, Gill hasn't had much to write home about this season. Being shuffled up and down the batting order too often hasn't helped the 19-year-old settle as well. And he's certainly better than the 20.85 batting average suggests.

ALL-ROUNDERS

BEN STOKES (Rajasthan Royals): Is this the same player who was the costliest buy at two successive auctions - in 2017 and 2018? 123 runs at 20.50 (just one 30+ score) and six wickets at an economy of 11.22 in the nine matches this season, hint otherwise. Even though he's left for England's World Cup preparations, Rajasthan may not be missing him too much.

VIJAY SHANKAR (Sunrisers Hyderabad): The runs have dried up for World Cup-bound Shankar since that promising, unbeaten 40 against Kolkata in Hyderabad's first match. Yes, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner may have dominated as openers, but with both of them gone now, it's time for Shankar to push up that batting average of 20.62 (165 runs from nine innings).

WICKET-KEEPER

AMBATI RAYUDU (Chennai Super Kings): How badly have Chennai's top order misfired this IPL? Add Rayudu alongside Raina and Jadhav. Even while bringing up his only half-century this season (in Chennai's chase against Rajasthan) he departed leaving the team still needing 33 to win. With no 30+ scores and a 2019 World Cup rejection, Rayudu's average is a low 21.30. He took up duties behind the stumps for the first time on Friday night versus Mumbai.

BOWLERS

JAYDEV UNADKAT (Rajasthan Royals): It's never a good feeling when you've gone for the most runs in a death overs spell this season. That was against Kolkata, where he was tonked for 47 off 18 balls. Things have gone downhill since he took 24 wickets from 12 matches in IPL 2017. It was 11 wickets from 15 matches the next season, and currently he has 7 wickets from 9 matches (at a shoddy bowling average of 51.85 and economy rate of 11.22).

KULDEEP YADAV (Kolkata Knight Riders): Yadav was in tears and had to be consoled during the match against Bangalore. That's because he had delivered the worst bowling performance in an innings by an Indian bowler this IPL. The chinaman bowler was clubbed for 59 off his 4 overs, picking up just one wicket (he has four in total till now). Poignant, yes. Especially if you consider that he'll be spearheading India' spin attack at the World Cup along with Yuzvendra Chahal.

PRASIDH KRISHNA (Kolkata Knight Riders): Kolkata's bowling has been toothless this edition, with none of the bowlers managing double figures in terms of wicket hauls for the season. Prasidh may have been unlucky at times, but he's sent down 37.2 overs so far, leaking 355 runs (at an average of 118.33) and picking up just three wickets.

SHARDUL THAKUR (Chennai Super Kings): Clearly Chennai's most disappointing bowler this edition. Thakur's got the least wickets among the team's regular bowlers (6), the worst bowling average among them (38.50) and the worst economy rate (9.24).

