Underappreciated heroes: Five cricketers who were born in a wrong era

Cricket is an unpredictable game and there are a plethora of players who wish to play for the country. It is often said that a person needs skill and hard work to reach success. However, fortune is an underrated factor. There have been cricketers who had talent and did wonders in every opportunity they got. However, they weren’t appreciated enough. They can be termed unlucky for playing in the same era as some other talented or well-established cricketers. Here are five such cricketers who, if born in a different era, could have achieved unprecedented success.

5. Brad Hodge

Australia’s former all-rounder Brad Hodge was a prolific cricketer who has been successful across all three formats of the game. He was one such batsman who could be technical in Tests along with being destructive in the T20 Internationals. However, Hodge can be considered as one of the most unlucky cricketers as despite stellar records he faced tough competition from the already established batting lineup which consisted of Ponting, Martyn and Hayden. He could feature in only 6 Test matches and 25 ODIs for Australia as Michael Clarke was picked before him for the national squad.

4. Graham Onions

England’s right-arm fast bowler Graham Onions is another cricketer who was born in the wrong era as his exploits were overshadowed by his counterpart James Anderson. Hailed as one of the finest cricketing talents and with 700 scalps in First-class cricket, Onions could play only 9 Tests and 4 ODI Internationals for England as the selectors preferred Anderson over him. Graham had gained limelight after he rattled the strong Middlesex batting line up in 2006 by taking a five-wicket haul followed by a whopping 69 wickets at a stunning average of 19.95 in the 2009 season of County Cricket.

3. Amit Mishra

The leg-spinner Amit Mishra was always in and out of the Indian team despite his decent performances. Having made his debut in 2003 against South Africa in Dhaka, Mishra faced tough competition from Anil Kumble, who was at the peak of his career. The spin mantle was then passed onto Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, thus there was no place for the leggie in the squad. He made his final ODI appearance for India in 2016 against New Zealand where he bowled exceptionally well and finished with the figures of 5-18. But Mishra couldn’t continue as the selectors and the captain preferred the young Yuzvendra Chahal over him.

2. Amol Muzumdar

India’s Amol Muzumdar can be considered as a perfect case of being born in the wrong era. Despite his spectacular records in the domestic circuit, Amol never got a chance to make an international debut as the Indian team was already equipped with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Being a domestic gaint for two decades, Muzumdar had smashed 206 against Haryana in his first-class debut for Mumbai. In the history of the Indian cricket, Amol Muzumdar will always be remembered as one of the finest and unluckiest batsmen who never played for the country.

1. Rahul Dravid

On this day in 2003,

Rahul Dravid scored 50 from just 22 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad. pic.twitter.com/imouc6HpYV

— Rakesh Aud (@rakesh_aud) November 15, 2017

Rahul Dravid, the unsung hero of the Indian cricket who never got his due. The man served Indian cricket with distinction for 16 years, scoring over 10000 runs in both Tests and ODIs but was overshadowed by Sachin Tendulkar’s stellar batting. Dravid was a complete team man as there were only a few things he didn’t do in his cricketing career to make his team win. He kept wickets, batted in the middle-order and opened the innings. Despite scripting a plethora of match-winning knocks for his country, Dravid was never properly acknowledged and appreciated for the same. He is probably the biggest example of a cricketer born in the wrong era.