Five Indian Players Who Made Their Debut Post-2010 But Are Nowhere Near Selection For Team India

In India, cricket is considered as a religion, and it is pretty evident that Indian players are worshipped as demigods. Players get a lot of name and fame via the gentleman’s game, and more so when they represent team India.

Cricket is a competitive sport, and to be amongst the best, a player has to strive for excellence constantly. While representing one’s nation on the international level, is considered as a big opportunity, some players despite doing wonders fail to hold on to their place in the national team.

Today, we will be listing down five such Indian players, who were once regarded as the ‘next big thing’ for the national team, but after making their debut post-2010, fell out of favour, and are nowhere near selection for Team India.

1) Parvez Rasool

The only Indian player from the valley of Jammu and Kashmir to play for the national team, Parvez Rasool was a shining star in domestic cricket at one point in time. He was often compared with Ravindra Jadeja due to his abilities to contribute with both bat and ball.

Rasool made his debut in Indian colours in the year 2014, against Bangladesh. However, he played just one ODI for the national team, picking up two wickets, while he did not get the chance to bat.

In T20 cricket, he again got just one game, scored five runs and took one wicket.

After that, the 30-year-old never got an opportunity to play for the national team, despite representing the likes of Pune Warriors India, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

2) Pankaj Singh

On the back of his impressive performances in the domestic circuit, Pankaj Singh was also heralded as the ‘next big thing’ for Team India. He made his Test debut in July 2014 against England but went on to play just two matches in Indian colours bagging two wickets at a hefty average of 146.

In ODIs too, the story was identical, Pankaj gave away 45 runs without any success and thus he played just a solitary match for India.

The 34-year-old in 2018, became the first Indian player to take 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy, but despite this, he remains a forgotten name. Having previously plied his trade for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he remains nowhere near selection for the national team.

3) Rahul Sharma

At his peak, Rahul Sharma was called a ‘future superstar’ but unfortunately, he faded away into the horizons of darkness. On the back of some strong performances in the domestic circuits, Sharma landed himself a contract with Pune Warriors India in 2011.

He performed well for them and found a passage into the national team, but eventually played just four ODIs, amassing six wickets at an average of 29.5.

In T20I cricket, he played two matches for India and bagged three wickets at an average of 18.67.

All this while, his economy rate was a mere 7.64, but Sharma didn’t get further opportunities for the Men in Blue.

4) Gurkeerat Singh Mann

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Another player who was, at his peak, compared to Ravindra Jadeja, Gurkeerat forced his way into the national team on the back of some impressive displays with Punjab in domestic cricket.

The 29-year-old all-rounder made his debut in national colours in 2016 against Australia, and played three matches on that tour, scoring just 13 runs in total, and failed to open his account with the ball.

After this, he was never considered for further matches for team India.

Gurkeerat has represented various franchises in the IPL, but he has been with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since last year, for whom he will play the upcoming IPL season as well.

5) Saurabh Tiwary

Saurabh Tiwary was once dubbed as the left-handed version of MS Dhoni, but his resemblance in playing style with the former Indian skipper and the fact that they represent the same state, Jharkhand.

He found immense success in the IPL with Mumbai Indians (MI) and later was chosen for team India as well.

Although Tiwary played just three matches for the Men in Blue, he scored 49 runs at the strike rate of 87. Despite this, he never got the opportunity to play for the national team in the following years.

The 30-year-old failed to dazzle in the IPL after being dropped from team India, but he will be seen in the colours of Mumbai Indians once again in IPL 2020.