Away from the spotlight: Three international stars who are under appreciated
Cricket is a team sport. While success comes to teams when all eleven players strike in unison, it cannot be denied that some of the players gain more limelight and applaud than others. Getting overshadowed by bigger names in the team is nothing new in the cruel world of sports and it has continued since forever. Here are three players who often perform for the team but remain unnoticed –
3. Mitchell Santner
The New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner is a certain contender for any list of underrated cricketers. Having made his place in the team after the retirement of veteran Daniel Vettori as a like-for-like replacement, the left-arm bowler has represented his team in 23 Tests, 75 ODIs, and 52 T20Is, claiming 41, 75, and 60 wickets respectively. Santner is more than handy with the bat, averaging over 25 in both Tests and ODIs. Despite such numbers and some notable contributions in his team’s victories over the years, he often goes unnoticed.
2. Jason Holder
One of the most severely underrated cricketers in the modern-day, Jason Holder is hardly appreciated for what he is capable of with both bat and ball. Currently ranked number 1 all-rounder in ICC Test rankings, the lanky Caribbean player has been as successful as anyone in the last half a decade but barely gets a mention. Holder, in 47 Tests, has 2253 runs at 33.13, while 123 wickets including eight fifers and a ten-for. Whereas, he has 1837 runs and 139 wickets from 118 wickets. For someone with such impressive numbers, he is hardly given his due share of recognition.
1. Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma grabbed eyeballs in heaps during the 2007-08 Test series in Australia. Having been around for over a decade, the tall pacer has gone onto represent the nation in a whopping 101 Tests, which is no small feat by any standard. With 303 wickets at an impressive average of 32.27, including 11 five-fors in the longest form of the game, Ishant sits at the third spot in the list of most wickets for an Indian pacer in Tests, only behind Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan respectively. Despite many top performances in victories both at home and abroad in his career, Ishant’s name is never taken in the same breath as the other legends of the game.
