In a country like India, where almost every second kid aspires to take up cricket, playing the sport comes with serious challenges. Every cricketer dreams to bring laurels to the country. While some manage to play for the country, only a few go on to become greats. Many succumb to the pressure of playing for the country and fade into oblivion just after a few matches at the International level.
In this article, we will take a look at ten cricketers who faded away from the Indian team just after playing one international match.
Pawan Negi
A T20 specialist, Pawan Negi is a left-arm spinner who can tonk the ball long batting lower down the order. He first shot to fame in the Indian Premier 2015 playing for the Chennai Super Kings, where he made handy contributions batting as a pinch-hitter.
Pawan Negi represents Delhi in the Indian domestic circuit. In the 2015/16 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he picked 16 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.00. Playing against Gujarat in the finals, Pawan took two wickets and scored 57 runs batting lower down the order. Though Delhi lost the finals, his performances earned him an India call-up for the T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Just a few days later, Pawan secured a whopping 8.5 crores deal with the Delhi Daredevils for the 2016 IPL season. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the pressure and failed to live up to the expectations that season. But as luck would have it, the Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him up the next season, where he became their highest wicket-taker.
The leg-spinner represented India in lone T20I against the United Arab Emirates in the Asia Cup. He dismissed Mohammad Usman for 9 in the first innings. Pawan however could never play for Team India ever again.
Faiz Fazal
Faiz Fazal earned his maiden India call-up in 2016, 13 years after his domestic debut. He became the first Indian player in 16 years to make his ODI debut in his thirties. He was rewarded for a spectacular domestic 2015/2016 season, which included his match-winning knock of 127 against Mumbai in the Irani Cup.
Fazal made his debut in the third ODI against Zimbabwe on July 15, 2016. He opened the innings and partnered with KL Rahul to chase down the target of 126 with no loss. Fazal scored 55 runs off 61 deliveries, at a strike rate of 90.16.
Over the years, Faiz Fazal has been a warhorse for the Vidharbha state association. The stylish left-hander led Vidarbha to their first-ever Ranji Trophy title in the 2017-2018 season. He was also their top scorer with 912 runs at an average of 70.15 that season. Vidarbha defended the crown under his leadership in the 2018/2019 season. Even though Faiz Fazal did not have an illustrious international career, he will always be remembered as one of Vidarbha’s finest to have ever played the game.
Sreenath Aravind
Left-arm pacer Sreenath Aravind made his first-class debut in the 2008-09 season after overcoming a career-threatening road accident. He was part of the Karnataka squad which dominated the Indian domestic circuit, winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup, and the Vijay Hazare trophy in the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons.
Aravind has played in 56 FC matches, bagging 186 wickets at an average of 23.94. However, his lack of consistency and injuries hampered his career. He has played three seasons for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, picking 45 wickets in 38 matches, at an average of 23.09.
Sreenath Aravind made his International debut in 2015 against South Africa. He was the most expensive bowler for India in the match, conceding 44 runs in 3.4 overs at an economy rate of 12.94. This also turned out to be his last match in India colors. Sreenath Aravind announced his retirement from the game in 2018
Abhijit Kale
In the late 80s, Abhijit Kale was one of the most promising players in the Bombay cricketing circuit. However, he could not break through the star-studded batting line-up of Bombay and decided to represent the Maharashtra cricket association. Kale came to the limelight when he scored 153 against the New Zealand Under-19 team in 1992. On his first-class debut in 1993, he hit 132 against Baroda.
On the back of consistent performances, Kale was handed his ODI debut for India in April 2003 against Bangladesh at Dhaka. But his career took an ugly turn when in November 2003, India selectors Kiran More and Pranab Roy accused him of offering a bribe for a place on the Indian side.
Abhijit Kale admitted that he tried to influence the selectors but dismissed the charges of offering bribery. He was banned from cricket till December 2003. After which, Kale did return to playing cricket but soon faded into oblivion.
Pankaj Dharmani
Wicket-keeper batsman Pankaj Dharmani used to play for the Punjab Cricket Association in the domestic circuit. He made his debut in the 1992–93 Ranji Trophy final against Maharashtra. Dharmani has played in 147 first-class matches scoring 9312 runs at an average of 50.06.
The Punjab batsman was rewarded for his consistency. He made his debut for India in the Titan Cup in 1996 against South Africa at Jaipur. But failed to make an impression in the match, scoring only eight runs. Though he did not play for India ever against, Dharmani continued scoring heavily in domestic cricket.
In the Ranji Trophy 1999-2000 season, he aggregated 830 runs from 10 matches including a triple hundred and a double hundred. This included a run of 608 runs without being dismissed. In 2011, he announced his retirement from the sport but continued his association with the game as a referee.
Iqbal Siddiqui
The tall right-arm pacer, Iqbal Siddiqui was known for his fiery bowling. He made his first-class debut for Maharashtra in the 1992-93 Ranji Trophy knock-out match against Railways. Iqbal has taken over 315 wickets in 90 first-class matches and was also very handy with the bat in his hand.
The right-arm pacer made his India debut in 2001, against England. He holds the record of scoring the match-winning runs in his only ever Test match to date with Australian player Jeff Moss.
Iqbal is the only Indian other than Manoj Prabhakar to open both the bowling and batting on debut, in Test matches. He hung up his boot in 2005.
Arvind Apte
Arvind Apte was a former Indian opening batsman, who represented the Mumbai Ranji Team. His brother Madhav Apte was a well-known cricketer in India.
Arvind played in 58 first-class matches scoring 2782 runs at an average of 33.51, including six centuries. He made his debut in Leeds on the 1959 tour of England. Apte was dismissed to Alan Moss in both the innings on 8 and 7 and was never picked again to play for India. He continued playing domestic cricket until 1972.
In August 2014 Arvind Apte passed away at the age of 79 in Pune, Maharashtra.
Kenia Jayantilal
Kenia Jayantilal was known for his solid defence and back-foot play. He was a reserved batsman on India’s tour of the West Indies in 1971.
As Sunil Gavaskar got injured on the tour, Kenia Jayantilal replaced him in the Indian playing XI. Unfortunately, he only managed five runs as Gary Sobers took a stunning catch in the slips to dismiss him off Grayson Shillingford’s bowling. That remained his only test match for India.
Jayantilal continued playing for Hyderabad and averaged 36.33 in 91 first-class matches scoring 4,687 runs with 8 hundred and twenty-two fifties. Post-retirement he took up coaching of various teams like Goa, Vidarbha, and Jammu, and Kashmir.
Ajit Pai
Ajit Pai was a tall right-arm pacer from Bombay who was also a useful batsman lower down the batting order. He started playing cricket with the tennis ball, and only after a friend advised him, he switched to season ball cricket. Ajit Pai rose through the ranks of Bombay cricket and made his debut in the Ranji Trophy in the 1968-69 season.
The right-arm pacer played his only test for India against New Zealand in 1969, where he picked up two wickets. Ajit Pai has picked up 85 first-class wickets in 35 matches at an average of 25.21. After quitting the sport, he worked as an Architect at the Bank of Baroda.
Ramesh Saxena
Ramesh Saxena made his first-class debut as a 16-year old playing for Delhi in the 1960/61 season. He slammed an unbeaten 113 in his first innings of the match.
Saxena had the reputation of a great player in spin bowling. He toured to England, Australia, and New Zealand but played only in 1 test of the 11 on those tours. The right-handed batsman made his India debut against England at Leeds, Headingley in 1967. He managed to score only 9 and 16 in the match.
Ramesh Saxena played domestic cricket till 1981-82, scoring 8155 runs in 149 first-class matches at an average of 40.37. He died in 2011 from a brain hemorrhage.
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