The year 2024 came with big results in Test cricket, from Bangladesh defeating Pakistan in Pakistan to India losing to New Zealand at home. Then, New Zealand was hammered by England at home. Many things unfolded, with some big guns, especially batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, failing to perform, and their Test averages saw a significant dip this year.
Yes, Virat Kohli made an improvement in Perth recently, but overall, he didn’t have a good outing against New Zealand or Bangladesh before that series. Apart from India, teams like Australia also struggled as their top order often crumbled. As a result, they faced consequences throughout the year. For England, Ben Stokes’ magic didn’t show properly, and many top teams struggled to make a mark in the current WTC cycle. So, connecting all the players who didn’t perform, let’s take a look at the Flop Test XI of 2024.
Flop Test XI 2024
| Position | Player |
| 1 | Rohit Sharma |
| 2 | Tom Latham |
| 3 | Usman Khawaja |
| 4 | Marnus Labuschagne |
| 5 | Virat Kohli |
| 6 | Ollie Pope |
| 7 | Ben Stokes |
| 8 | Shakib Al Hasan |
| 9 | Mohammed Siraj |
| 10 | Tim Southee |
| 11 | Nathan Lyon |
It has been an extremely tough outing for Rohit Sharma, in particular, currently in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series as well. Rohit has only managed to score 22 runs overall in this series. He is also averaging less than 30 this year, despite playing in enough matches. Along with him, Kiwi captain Tom Latham has also had a poor outing. Both openers have failed to make a mark this year.
As mentioned earlier, for India, it is Virat Kohli who is not in good form also, averaging 25 this year despite scoring century in Perth Test, which came recently.
Even Usman Khawaja, who hasn’t provided Australia with a good start, has been struggling. Due to Khawaja’s poor form, the team has often faced shaky starts. Another Australian player, Marnus Labuschagne, once considered the backbone of the team, is currently not showing any promise. He had a few good starts in the ongoing BGT series but failed to capitalize on them.
England’s Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes also did not perform well this year, with Pope managing just 994 runs. Stokes, expected to do well, has only averaged 26. Even with the ball, Mohammed Siraj hasn’t picked up many wickets and, in contrast, has conceded a lot of runs. Looking at other players, Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan has taken 13 wickets in five matches, while Nathan Lyon has taken 28 wickets in eight matches but has also come under scrutiny.
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