India has always been one of the best teams in the history of cricket. Making your international debut for India is regarded as an achievement even in today’s day and age. There have been many great players to have played the game from India.
While some players manage to find a place in the national squad, others fail to make the cut. Although the fight doesn’t end here for those who get selected, as retaining your place in the squad is an entirely different struggle. There is a lot of competition to get into Team India’s squad, in the first.
Many players in the recent past have lost their place in the the Indian squad despite noteworthy performances. Many players have been dropped from the team despite having more than modest numbers. Today we shall be taking a look at 5 Indian cricketers who might never play for India again.
1) Vijay Shankar:
Vijay Shankar’s career started like a protagonist of a Bollywood movie. From being called as a replacement to becoming a permanent player only to get dropped, Vijay Shankar has seen it all. It is safe to say that Shankar had the potential to become a regular face in the Indian ODI team but failed to do so.
Shankar made his ODI debut against Australia in 2019 and instantly made a mark. In just his second series, he scored a valuable 40 and took the vital wicket of Marcus Stoinis in the final over to win the match for his team. He was even selected in the 2019 CWC squad out of nowhere.
The then selector of India, MSK Prasad said that he was a “Three Dimensional Player” and thus was selected in the squad resulted in positive and negative views from cricket pundits. However post that, he was never selected to play for India again. It is really sad to see that a talented all-rounder like Shankar went from being India’s number 4 batsman to another player who went off the radar in ODI cricket in recent times.
2) Kedar Jadhav:
The curious case of Kedar is an ideal Case study for any student willing to do an analysis of this beautiful sport. Kedar Jadhav was hailed “India’s next finisher” in ODI cricket. He was their Mr. Dependable for many years.
Kedar Jadhav managed to grab the headlines when he scored a stunning 120 against England in 2017 while chasing a 300+ total and even overshadowed Virat Kohli that day. Kedar Jadhav, even today is one of the few players who has a batting average of above 40 and a strike rate of above 100 in ODI cricket. He has a batting average of 42 and a strike rate of 101 in 52, this shows the kind of impact he has created in the limited opportunities given to him.
There are only 2 reasons for the downfall of Kedar Jadhav, age and fitness. It was his regular injuries which kept him out of team, his age didn’t help the cause either. Kedar Jadhav was also a handy part timer and thus making him a complete package. There’s no doubt that Kedar Jadhav will go down as one of India’s most underrated ODI cricketers.
3) Dinesh Karthik:
Dinesh Karthik has been around for around 15 years and has still not managed to become a regular face in the Indian team. This shows how tough it is to play for India on a consistent basis. Dinesh Karthik is someone who has always been under
the shadows of MS Dhoni.
Dinesh Karthik has played more than 150 games for India and last played an ODI for India in the 2019 CWC semis. DK has only himself to blame for not going of the radar in International cricket as he’s always been on the inconsistent side.
With the rise of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant it seems very unlikely that DK would ever play an ODI for India ever again. Besides, he’s 35 and the Indian management is looking for youngsters. Dinesh Karthik hasn’t played an ODI for India in the last 15 months, meaning India have moved on from him.