5 Players who were successful in T20 WC 2024 but flopped this season

The 2024 T20 World Cup witnessed standout performances from a certain set of players which proved to be pivotal for their teams' fortunes. However, the same could not be said about their contributions in the T20 World Cup 2026 as they failed to produce the impact that was expected of them.

While many new players stepped up to the plate in the recently concluded event, the reputations of the 2024 stars did not live up to their billing. As a result, their teams paid the price on various occasions for their lack of effectiveness. Had they succeeded in scoring more runs and picking up more wickets, the fate of their teams would have improved.

Here is a list of five players who were successful in T20 World Cup 2024 but flopped this season -

1) Jos Buttler

The veteran England destructive batter was the highest run-scorer for the team (and the eighth highest overall) in the 2024 edition. Buttler's 214 runs in seven innings came at an average of 42.80 and a strike rate of 158.51. Significantly, the right-hander was at his usual best and paced his innings according to the conditions and the situations to help his team ride towards the semi-final.

But all that experience and ability failed to come to the fore in 2026 as the 35-year-old struggled to score runs in his eight innings, accumulating only 87 at a strike rate of 116. Buttler's lack of form affected the team at various stages of the tournament as the other batters' performances could not hide the veteran's deficiencies. Moreover, it was surprising to see that the team management never intended to replace the right-hander with Ben Duckett.

2) Saurabh Netravalkar

The software-engineer-turned-cricket-hero was the toast of the 2024 edition after famously defending 18 runs in the Super Over against Pakistan, and dismissing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the subsequent match against India. The left-arm pacer's performances played a key role in the USA's qualification to the Super Eights. As a matter of fact, Netravalkar picked up six wickets in as many matches at an average of 20.83 and an economy rate of 6.63.

Fast forward to 2026 and the tables turned dramatically for the southpaw. Netravalkar, in the team's first match against India, was way off target and conceded a record 65 runs in four overs with no wicket to show. The Mumbai-born was expensive in the next match against Pakistan as well, giving away 40 runs with one wicket to his name. The pacer was out of form badly, and he and the team paid a price for it.

3) Travis Head

Head is one of the most feared batters in the world, be it any format. The left-hand opener was in great touch in 2024, scoring 255 runs from seven innings at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 158.38 with a highest score of 76 against India. Notably, Head was the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

In the 2026 edition, however, the Aussie could not get going in the first two matches against Ireland and Zimbabwe, scoring 6 and 17 only. He put on a quick 56 in the next match against Sri Lanka and that was his only highlight of the tournament. In all, the batter scored 111 runs from four innings at an average of 27.75 and a strike rate of 158.57. Though Head's effectiveness cannot always be measured in numbers, they were still indicative of the struggle that the South Australian went through in Sri Lanka.

4) Kagiso Rabada

The South African pace spearhead's form in the 2024 edition helped his team immensely in reaching the final. Rabada produced game-changing performances in the seam-friendly conditions of the Americas. Notably, the right-armer scalped 13 wickets in nine innings at an average of 15 and an economy rate of 6.29.

But in the latest edition in the subcontinent, the 30-year-old failed to produce impactful performances almost throughout. The team needed him to conjure up magic in the semi-final against New Zealand, but Rabada could not produce more than one wicket in what was a hammering of the Proteas bowlers. Five wickets from seven innings at an average of 43.40 and an economy rate of 8.13 suggests how much the star bowler strayed from his usual, attacking self.

5) Fazalhaq Farooqi

The Afghan left-arm pacer is a wily customer who has enough variations and skills to bamboozle batters in different situations. The Atalan proved it in the 2024 edition by being the highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps from eight innings at an average of 9.41 and an economy rate of 6.31. Needless to say, his performances helped Afghanistan reach their first semi-final of the multi-nation tournament.

The 25-year-old, however, had an insipid 2026 edition. The bowler failed to produce impactful performances in the first two matches against New Zealand (0/25) and South Africa (1/32) as the southpaw was dropped for the remaining two matches. Farooqi's lack of form affected Afghanistan's chances in the toughest of all matches of their group-stage campaign as the Atalans failed to qualify for the Super Eights this time around.