India, a country full of cricket enthusiast has produced some extraordinary legends of the game that never came into the limelight. In a country with millions of aspiring cricketers, few get to live their dream and only selected 11 gets a chance to play on the match day.
There are some of the unsaid names of cricket, who had talent and ability but lacked luck. Despite proving their stocks in domestic cricket years after years, they fail to achieve their dream of playing for their country.
Here are the top 5 domestic legends who never played for India:
AMARJIT KAYPEE
Amarjit Kaypee was a right-handed batsman from Punjab who made his first-class debut in the 1980-81 season. Amarjit held the record for the most runs scored in Ranji Trophy but despite his records, his cricket was overlooked by the National Team Selectors. In the 1990-1991 season, Amarjit scored a brilliant 940 runs which in turn helped his team Haryana to win their first and till date, only Ranji Trophy Title.
Amarjit was also named the ‘Indian Cricketer of the year; in the same season. Amarjit even held the captainship of his team, Haryana in 31 matches and was an integral part of most of the teams win.
In 1991-92 and 1992-93, he was selected twice in the North Zone Team for the Duleep Trophy. In his 117 first-class matches, he has scored 7894 runs at an average of 52.27. Unfortunately, Amarjit was never approached for the Indian side and thus, he retired from cricket in October 2000.
PADMAKAR SHIVALKAR
The Mumbai stalwart was another talented cricketer whose cricket was left unnoticed and despite his great abilities, he never made it to the Indian side. Padmakar Shivalkar was a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. Padmakar has played for Mumbai in the first-class cricket for around 20 years and his contribution to the side has been incredible. He was also the highest wicket-taker of all time for his team.
In terms of bowling, Padmakar could destroy the batting lineup of any opposition. This was seen in the Ranji Trophy Finals between Mumbai and Tamilnadu where he took 8 for 16 in the first innings and 5 for 18 in the second innings.
In 124 first-class matches, Padmakar took 589 wickets with a bowling average of just 19.69. But even though he was the most destructible bowler at that stage, he never got a chance to show his skills for the nation due to Bishan Bedi’s spot in the team.
YERE GOUD
Yere Goud, coming from a remote place had dreams and passion of a warrior. The former right-handed batsman made his debut for Karnataka in 1994. Yere has made his impact in the Ranji Trophy and has carved a niche for himself. He is one of the most inspiring cricketers for youngsters.
A year later his debut, he moved to the Railways Team because of poor runs displayed for the side. From there on he won 2 Ranji and 3 Irani Trophies with them. He also won the Duleep Trophy whilst playing for Central Zone. He was often called as the ‘Rahul Dravid’ of Railways by his teammate, Javagal Srinath. Yere scored 7650 runs in his 134 first-class matches with an average of 45.53 runs.
Yere’s average in List A cricket and T20 was 37.53 and 8.5 respectively. However, despite an extraordinary domestic record, Yere never got a chance to play for Indian Cricket Team.
RAJINDER GOEL
The worst nightmare for batsmen was a left-arm spinner, who represented Haryana in Domestic cricket. Rajinder Goel made his first-class debut on December 23, 1958, and now holds the record for most wickets in Ranji Trophy. In just 157 First-class matches, Goel took a humongous number of wickets, which are 750 in total.
Rajindra Goel has featured in the Indian Squad for one unofficial Test against Ceylon at Ahmedabad. However, Goel’s journey of the Indian Cricket Team was restricted to that test itself. Later on, he was selected for the Indian side but was excluded from the team at the last moment.
“He is the one bowler whom I have really dreaded facing in my life. I have never been able to feel comfortable against his left-hand spinners and Goel has been one who, because of his flatter trajectory, has not given me the opportunity to step down the track and drive,” Sunil Gavaskar had said earlier.
The domestic stalwart left a rich legacy after his death earlier this year.
AMOL MAZUMDAR
Being born in the era of the stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly; Amol Mazumdar had his own story to tell. The right-handed batsman had everything that a successful cricketer is required to have, talent, technique, calibre and a passion for being the best. Despite his 11,167 runs in first-class cricket, Amol never got a call from the selectors.
In the famous unbroken 664 run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, Amol Cucumber was the next man who sat with his pads on. Amol Muzumdar was named the vice-captain in 1994 for the under 19 Cricket Team for the England Tour.
Even with a batting average of 48.13 and 30 centuries, Amol was not able to fulfil his dream of playing for India. Currently, he works with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.