5 Players Who Were Selected In The Team But Never End Up Representing Team India

There isn’t much more joy than representing the country and to be able to get picked up in the Indian squad is an achievement for the players with the amount of competition. It is unfortunate that some of the players don’t get any opportunity in the playing XI despite getting picked up for the Indian squad and would be left out of the squad for the next series as the injured players or rested players return to the squad.

India is a massively populated country and cricket has become a religion in the country. People come in large numbers to watch the game and hence the competition for places in the Indian squad gets tightened up. Here are 5 players who were selected in the Indian team but never made their debuts.

5 Players Who Were Selected In The Team But Never End Up Representing Team India:

Ishwar Pandey:

Ishwar Pandey was a popular name in the domestic circuit and in the IPL when he was playing for the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings team. The 31-year-old is more like a Munaf Patel-like bowler hitting the good length consistently and not allowing the batsman to settle in.

The right-arm medium pacer was the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy for Madhya Pradesh in the season 2012-2013 with 48 wickets from eight games.

He earned a spot in India A squad due to his performances and also was among the Rest of the India squad for the 2013 Irani Trophy. He was selected in the Indian Test and ODI squads for the New Zealand tour of 2014 but did not play a single game and was unlucky to be left out of the squads later.

He did enjoy success in the IPL for CSK when he was a regular in the 2015 IPL and has played 25 IPL games in his career taking 18 wickets at an economy of 7.67.

Ranadeb Bose:

Ranadeb Bose had an excellent domestic record in the 2006-2007 season but was unlucky to miss out on an Indian cap despite being picked for the England tour in 2007. His first-class numbers are pretty good with 317 wickets in 91 games at an average of 25.80 with 24 five-wicket hauls.

Bose was more than 25 years when he earned his maiden call to the Indian squad and chances of returning back to the Indian squad looked very bleak. However, he did fight it out until 2011 in which he played his last first-class game for Bengal against Tamil Nadu.

Dheeraj Jadhav:

Dheeraj Jadhav has some amazing domestic cricket numbers with 7679 runs at an average of 50.85 in 11 games that spanned in a 15 year- career. He represented the Maharashtra state team and was part of the Pune Warriors in IPL a well as Mumbai Champs in Indian Cricket League.

Despite his excellent numbers, the left-hander did not get a single game in the Indian jersey after getting picked up in the squad for the Test series against Australia in 2004.

The Indian batting looked very strong with the likes of Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, and Sehwag which meant that he had to wait a long time for his opportunity. However, he was removed from the squad for the next series and never looked like coming back.

Basil Thampi:

The fast bowler from Kerala plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and was retained in the squad for IPL 2021. He was the emerging player of the season in IPL 2017 where he played for the Gujarat Lions and picked up 11 wickets in his first season. He has played 20 IPL games so far in his IPL career taking 17 wickets at an economy rate of 9.79.

His first-class numbers are decent too with 79 wickets in 35 games. He was picked in the Indian squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka in 2017 but he had to warm the bench throughout the series and wasn’t given an opportunity. He was dropped after the series and is now out of contention for an Indian spot.

Deepak Hooda:

Deepak Hooda first came into the limelight for the Under-19 side in the 2014 U-19 World Cup where he impressed with his long-hitting ability. He was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in the auction and was a part of the playing XI regularly as an all-rounder. He is currently with the Punjab Kings for the IPL 2021 and had a good season last year playing the finisher role.

His excellent domestic numbers for Baroda earned him a spot in the Indian squad for the T20 series against Sri Lanka in 2017 and in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2018, He was unlucky to warm the bench throughout and had fallen out of the radar for an Indian spot since then. He will be eyeing to have a good season for the Punjab franchise which might push his chances again.