10 Famous cricketers who never played in World Cup

Every cricket fan in their childhood would have dreamt of representing the country one day and going on win the World Cup would be the icing on the cake to that dream. While not many cricketers have had the opportunity to make their debut for India, some players have had a terrific career but could not make their World Cup debut.

Despite being a big name and having a strong presence in the Test squad, the World Cup demands a different set of skills and only 15 players are to be named in the squad which makes it quite competitive. Such cricketers do have a special place in the heart of the fans despite not being able to make a contribution to the World Cup.

At times, injuries have also played with the careers of certain cricketers ahead of the World Cup and it is one of the toughest times to miss out on the squad for external reasons. With all those said, here are the famous cricketers who never played in a World Cup game in both the ODI and T20I formats.

1. Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook is considered to be one of the greatest batters ever produced by his country and it is a big surprise that he did not play a World Cup game for England despite being part of all three formats. The left-hander who made his international debut in 2006 went on to play 161 Tests, 92 ODIs and 4 T20Is for his country from the period of 2006 to 2018.

Cook was an orthodox batter who took his time early and he had a brilliant technique which brought him a lot of success in the toughest of conditions. With 12472 runs at an average of 45.4 in Tests, Cook scored 33 Test centuries and 57 half centuries until he retired from international cricket in 2018.

Cook did find some success in ODI cricket, with 3204 runs in 92 ODIs at an average of 36.4, but could not emulate his Test records in the limited overs format. He last played an ODI in 2014 and wasn’t part of the 2011 or 2007 World Cups squad for England. He did not feature in any of the T20 World Cup as well.