Five cricketers who were named in India squad but never made their debut

There have been more than 300 players who have represented the Indian cricket team at the international level in Test cricket. There have been 232 players who have worn the blue jersey in ODI cricket for India. And, there have been 83 players who have represented India in T20I cricket.

But then, how would you feel, if you knocked on the door repeatedly, but it just refused to open? How would you feel, if, in spite of your best efforts, you just could not play for your country? In this article, let us take a look at five players who were added to the Indian squad but were unable to play even a single game for India.

5. Dheeraj Jadhav

Dheeraj Jadhav was a behemoth in first-class cricket. His first-class career spanned 15 years, and he featured in 111 games at the first-class level, scoring 7679 runs at an average in excess of 50(50.85). The left-hander also scored 23 hundreds and 31 fifties in first-class cricket. But he could not feature even in a single game for the Indian side. In fact, he was part of the Indian squad for the Test series against Australia in 2004, but could not play a game.

The 1990s and the early 2000s was a period when a number of players missed out, because the Indian side was filled with loads of talent. And, in spite of piling up the runs in domestic cricket, Jadhav could not even play a single match at the international level for his country.

4. Ishwar Pandey

If you had followed the IPL even a few years back, you would be familiar with this man. From 2013 till 2015, Ishwar Pandey played 25 matches in IPL cricket. The pacer picked up 18 wickets in his IPL career and featured for 3 teams. Pandey also has impressive numbers in domestic cricket. He played 72 matches at the first-class level and picked up 252 wickets at an average of 26.18.

In his List A career too, Pandey picked up 61 wickets, and in domestic T20 games, the pacer scalped 68 batsmen. And, in spite of having the height, the pace and the ability to get the new ball to zip off the surface, an India cap always eluded him. He was even picked as a part of the squad for the tour of New Zealand in 2014 but never got a look in.

3. Ranadeb Bose

This was another case of a very good domestic record going totally unnoticed. Ranadeb Bose had an excellent first-class record, but his exploits in the domestic arena did not translate into an India cap. The tall and well-built pacer took a stunning 317 wickets in first-class cricket and took them at an average of just 25.80.

The closest that Bose came to wearing the Indian jersey was in the year 2007 when he was added to the Indian squad for the challenging tour of England. However, he warmed the benches for the entire tour and now has even retired from the domestic competition without getting even a single chance to prove his worth at the international level.

2. Basil Thampi

How would it be, if you won the emerging player of the year in your debut IPL season, and yet have not gone on to represent your country at the international level even 3 years after your exploits? Basil Thampi announced his arrival in the IPL by picking up 11 wickets in his debut season and won the emerging player of the season award in IPL 2017.

Thampi has a decent first-class record as well. He has picked up 79 wickets in 35 matches in first-class cricket, and 61 wickets in 62 T20 games at a good strike rate of 21.30. Thampi was picked in the limited-overs squad for a series against Sri Lanka, but luck went against him, as he could not even feature in a single game.

1. Deepak Hooda

He has played 68 matches in the IPL, but is yet to wear the national jersey. In fact, it would be even more frustrating for him, as he was picked in the squad for a T20I series against Sri Lanka, but was not given a chance to take the field. Apart from that, Hooda has excellent numbers in domestic cricket.

The right-hander played 46 first class games and scored 2908 runs at an average over 40(42.76). In List A cricket, he has scored 2059 runs at a strike rate of close to 100(93.63). And, even in domestic T20 matches, he has scored 1718 runs at a strike rate of 135.59.