Indian cricket in recent times has seen a lot of young cricketers make name for themselves. Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan are names that come to mind instantly who made it big in the side when given a chance to play for the country. However, there have been cricketers in the past, who despite having the talent never got a chance to play for the country. In this article, we pick 5 cricketers who despite being in the squad, never played for Team India.
The team in recent times have banked on their youngsters to help them win matches. On the other hand, proven matchwinners like Kuldeep Yadav are warming the benches despite being in the squad. The chinaman has not played for 14 Test matches for India, despite being a part of the squad since playing his last Test in Sydney in 2019. For over two years now, Kuldeep Yadav has not played international cricket for Team India.
5 Cricketers Who Never Played For India Despite Being In The Squad
Dheeraj Jadhav
One of the most unheard names in Indian cricket makes it to our list of 5 cricketers who have not played for India despite being in the squad. Jadhav, who now ages 41, was one of the most highly-rated players in the domestic season of 2003/04. However with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman all in their prime at that stage, Jadhav remained under the radar.
His amazing form just before the series against Australia at home in 2004 even earned him a callup to the squad for the 4th test match, but he couldn’t break into the playing XI as it was Gautam Gambhir who was handed a debut.
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Ranadeb Bose
The veteran Bengal pacer was in the India squad in their 2007-08 tour to England but never made his Test debut. The Bengal pacer picked up 57 wickets in just 8 games at a strike rate of 39.4 during the 06/07 Ranji Trophy and made it to the notice of the selectors.
However, with Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and Sreesanth in the squad, Bose felt out of favor. The pacer picked up 317 wickets in 91 first-class games at a strike rate of 55.87.
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Ishwar Pandey
Probably the unluckiest name in the 5 cricketers list is Ishwar Pandey. The MP pacer played under MS Dhoni in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings. He burst onto the scene during the 2012/13 Ranji Trophy as he picked up 48 wickets in 8 games and was the highest wicket-taker.
He was picked for the New Zealand tour in 2014 and was a part of the ODI and Test match squads. However, he didn’t get a single opportunity throughout the tour and soon fell out of contention.
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Basil Thampi
The Kerala pacer played for Gujarat Lions (2016) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2017) in the IPL as he impressed the selectors with his performance.
He was picked in the Indian squad for the 2017 T20I series against Sri Lanka at home but did not play a single game. Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj were picked ahead of him as he sat on the sidelines. He was still a part of the India A teams, but after a while got dropped even from the ‘A’ team as well.
Deepak Hooda
The Baroda all-rounder has been playing in the IPL for quite a few seasons now. He has played for several teams like Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and very recently Kings XI Punjab.
He too like Thampi, was a part of the Indian squad for the 2017 series against Sri Lanka but never played for India. He was a part of India’s Nidahas Trophy squad as well in 2018. However, there too he was not given a game. Still just 25, Hooda has not given up on his dream of playing for India.