11 Forgotten faces in Indian cricket

In recent years, Indian cricket has encountered players who started with a lot of promise but faded away before fulfilling at par to the potential. Some of them possessed prodigious talent while others had acquired skills at a raw age to make it to the senior team very young. While some players’ career was curbed due to injuries and health issues, others self-destroyed while some just could not make it count when the opportunity presented itself.

Some of them were proven match-winners, who played key roles in some of India’s historic successes of recent. Yuvraj Singh, who played a very important role in India’s T20 World Cup win and 2011 World Cup win, saw his national team spot die out slowly after he had a brush with death being diagnosed with lung cancer just after he helped India win the 2011 World Cup. He came back fit but never regained his old self, thus losing his spot in the team. Another name, Irfan Pathan, maybe the one which is always remembered with a gush of disappointment as he slowly lost his form after starting out on a very promising

Another name, Irfan Pathan, maybe the one who is always remembered with a gush of disappointment as he slowly lost his form after starting out on a very promising note, emulating and drawing comparison with Wasim Akram possessing the same prodigious swing and a more than useful hand at batting. From being called as Indian cricket’s ‘Blue Eyed Boy’ by the media, he went on to be featured in Shashi Tharoor’s list of ‘India’s Lost Boys’. In this article, we present 11 players who were lost over the years.

1. Robin Uthappa:

Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa made a successful ODI debut in the last ODI of England’s tour of India in April 2006, making 86 before getting run out. It was the highest score for an Indian debutant in a limited overs match.

Nicknamed ‘The Walking Assassin’, he played an important role in India’s 2007 T20 World Cup win. But he faded out of focus with loss of form and was recalled a couple of times after successful tenures in the IPL but could not regain his spot in the team, being in and out of the squad continuously.

Uthappa played 66 ODIs for India, scoring 934 runs at an average of 25.34 and also featured in 13 T20s aggregating 249 runs at an average of 24.9.

2. Naman Ojha:

An excellent wicketkeeper-batsman, Madhya Pradesh lad Naman Ojha failed to make it big at the international stage most of the times due to better players being present in the team at his position.

He made his Test debut vs Sri Lanka in 2015 following a superlative series with India A in Australia in Australia. Despite having the talent, his luck ill-favored him and he could only play 1 Test for Team India scoring 56 runs in the 2 innings.

He played the only ODI for the senior team in 2010 against Sri Lanka, in which he could only manage 1 run and 1 stumping, thus failing to capitalize on the opportunity.

3. Manoj Tiwary:

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary is another player who had the talent to make it to the senior team, but with injuries at crucial junctures marred his chances and let him down on occasions.  An aggressive right-handed batsman, he gained attention from the selectors and fans through his strokeplay and high runs scoring in Indian domestic cricket.

Because of his front foot play and ability to attack the bowler by charging down the pitch, many have compared his batting style to England’s Kevin Pietersen.  Tiwary was named in the ODI squad to Bangladesh but sustained an injury on the morning he was supposed to debut.

He later debuted in the Commonwealth Series against Australia but could manage only 2 runs thus losing his place. He was later picked up to replace Yuvraj Singh in the West Indies series in 2011 and later for England’s tour of India. He has played 8 ODIs scoring 251 runs with 1 century and a half century and also took 5 wickets with the best figures of 4/61. He also featured in 3 T20s, scoring 15 in the only innings he batted.

4. Yuvraj Singh:

Player of the tournament in Team India’s 2011 World Cup triumph, Yuvraj Singh’s health curbed his international career. A dynamic batsman and fielder, he has produced countless match-winning performances for India, the World Cup being the epitome of his success.

Diagnosed with lung cancer before the World Cup, he finally came out of treatment in 2012. He was given a chance to make an international comeback in T20 against New Zealand, but he could not make it count. Since then, Yuvraj has been occasionally in and out of the national team, his domestic performances urging the selectors to give him a place but none of the comebacks lasted long.

An excellent all-rounder for the team, his statistics show he has amassed 8329 runs in 293 ODIs at an average of 36.27 with 13 centuries to his name and also captured 111 wickets with the best figures of 5/31. He has also featured in 40 Tests, aggregating 1900 runs at an average of 33.92 with 3 centuries and also took 9 wickets during this period. He also played in 47 T20s scoring 1008 runs with a top score of 77* and grabbed 25 wickets with the best figures of 3/17.

5. Parthiv Patel:

Parthiv Patel made his Test debut in the second Test vs England at Nottingham in 2002 at an age of 17 years and 152 days, becoming the youngest player to do so eclipsing Hanif Mohammad’s previous record at 17 years and 300 days. He was out for a duck in the first innings but played for an hour in the second to deny England a victory.

He made his ODI debut in 2003 against New Zealand but featured in 13 ODIs in a span of 2 years and had a poor average of 14.66. Parthiv returned to the Indian team in 2010 in the 4th and 5th ODI vs New Zealand. He celebrated this moment by hitting two back to back half centuries. Later on, he was called up for replacing injured Sachin Tendulkar in India tour South Africa.

He played some good knocks for Chennai Super Kings in IPL with opening partner Matthew Hayden. In his long spanning career, he played 38 ODIs and 20 Tests managing 736 and 683 runs respectively at averages of 23.74 and 29.69. He managed 41 catches and 8 stumpings in tests and 20 catches and 8 stumpings in ODIs, thus failing to justify his selection.

6. Yusuf Pathan:

Known for his clean hitting, Yusuf Pathan made his way into the team as a pinch hitter. Following his impressive performances in 2007 Deodhar Trophy and inter-state T20 championship, he was selected for the 2007 T20 World Cup, debuting in the final against Pakistan in which he managed 15 runs opening for his team.

Following his performances in the IPL, Yusuf was made part of the ODI teams in Kitply and Asia Cup and got to bat only 4 times, failing to impress with either bat or ball. After mixed performances, he was later dropped from the squad in late 2009. He returned in 2010 and scored a 123* off 96 deliveries to hand India a 5-wicket win winning the Man of the Match award himself.

Another performance came from him against South Africa in 2011 before the World Cup when he scored 105 off 70 balls but India failed to win the match. He was in the World Cup winning team and named in 2012 Asia Cup to be held in Bangladesh. But the runs dried and he went out of favor and lost his place eventually. In his career, he played 57 ODIs and 22 T20s, scoring 836 and 210 runs respectively at an average of 27.00 and 18.15 respectively. He also managed 33 ODI and 13 T20 wickets.

7. Irfan Pathan:

Irfan Pathan, the other Pathan sibling, made his India debut in the 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was a core member of the team until a decline in form set in during 2006. Breaking into the national team at 19, he often evoked comparisons with the legendary Wasim Akram with prodigious swing and impressive performances.

He was named the emerging player of the year in 2004 by ICC, playing a key role in India’s ODI and Test series win against Pakistan in 2004. The start of 2005 saw him conceding runs at a high rate leading to a brief exile from the ODI team. Appointment of Greg Chappell as the national coach saw him return to the squad, with a few strong performances with the bat as well as the ball as Chappell identified his talent with the bat and made him a complete bowling all-rounder.

In 2006, Irfan became the first bowler to take a first-over hat-trick in Tests, achieving the feat against Pakistan. Although his batting produced results, his bowling declined and slowly he lost his place in the squad. He returned for the T20 World Cup, where he won Man of the Match in the final against Pakistan taking 3 wickets and this earned him an ODI recall, a stint which lasted 12 months, after which another injury saw him go out of contention.

Irfan has played 29 Tests scoring 1105 runs with 1 century and also taking 100 wickets with the best of 7/59. He featured in 120 ODIs making 1544 runs and taking 173 wickets with the best of 5/27. He was part of the T20 team for 24 matches, scored 172 runs and capturing 28 wickets with the best figure of 3/16.

8. Vinay Kumar:

Karnataka paceman Vinay Kumar played for the Indian team in all three formats of the game, making his debut against Zimbabwe in 2010 after the debacle in the T20 World Cup, where he took 2/51 in 8 overs in a six-wicket defeat.

He was in and out of the team before being selected for the tours of England and West Indies. He played in the dead rubber 5th ODI against Indies taking 1 for 46 in nine overs. He was called as a replacement of injured Varun Aaron for 2011-12 tour of Australia where he debuted in the third match ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin as India decided to go in with 4 pacers.

He managed 1/73 in the first and only innings in the match. Strong domestic and IPL performances have repeatedly brought back his name into contention but have failed to make the final cut ever since. He played 31 ODIs capturing 38 wickets. In the single Test he played, he took 1 wicket. He has made it to 9 T20s, taking 10 wickets.

9. Pragyan Ojha:

Known for his ability to flight the ball, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha made his international debut against Bangladesh in Karachi in 2008, finishing with figures of 2/43. Previously featuring in the U-19 Indian team, he captured attention finishing the Ranji 2006-07 season with 29 wickets at an average of 19.89 in just 6 games.

In November 2009, Ojha made his Test debut against Sri Lanka replacing Amit Mishra, producing 2/37 and 2/36 in the two innings of the match. He finished the series with 9 wickets, with a 5-wicket haul in an innings win for India in the next match.

In his T20 debut against Bangladesh in June 2009, he finished with figures of 4/21 winning the Man of the Match award. He featured in the squad till 2013, capturing seven 5-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in Tests, but lost his place due to a loss in form and the rise of Ashwin.

10. Piyush Chawla:

Right-arm leg break bowler Piyush Chawla got his national call-up after he produced 4 wickets conceding only 8 runs in the 8 overs he bowled in the U-19 World Cup final, also making 25* with the bat. This performance was preceded by few impressive performances with both bat and ball in the domestic circuit.

Chawla debuted against England in March 2006 at Mohali, making him the second youngest Test debutant after Sachin, and he took the sole wicket of Andrew Flintoff in the match. He got his ODI call-up against Bangladesh in May 2007 taking 3 wickets in the match. He again returned to the Test team in 2008 against South Africa taking 2/66 in the first innings.

The performances became less frequent leading him to go out of contention. He got a surprise call-up in the 2011 World Cup, playing against England. He returned to Tests after 4 years in December 2012 at Nagpur against England, taking 4/69 in the 1st innings. He played 3 Tests and 25 ODIs taking 7 and 32 wickets respectively, with 4/69 and 4/23 being his best figures.

11. Ashoke Dinda:

Bengal pacer Ashoke Dinda made his India debut in December 2009 in a match against Sri Lanka following an impressive domestic and IPL season and finished with figures of 1/34 in 3 overs and also made 19 off 20 deliveries.

He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in May 2010 following performances in the domestic circuit. Dinda was unable to take a wicket on his debut and also in the sole match in Asia Cup against Sri Lanka.

Clocking up speeds in high 140 kph, he was useful in the domestic circuit but failed to make it count at the international level, playing his final ODI in 2013. The Bengal pacer has 13 ODI caps and 9 T20 caps with 12 and 17 wickets, his best figures being 2/44 and 4/19 respectively.