5 Indian players who always play for second-string side but rarely make it to senior team

3. Jalaj Saxena

Another veteran in the list is the boy from Kerala, Jalaj Saxena, who has always performed consistently, but never enough to ring the selectors’ doorbell. He is one of the only few all-rounders who have performed consistently for years in the domestic matches. Jalaj Saxena is undoubtedly one of the most unlucky players to have ever embraced the game. The 33-year old has never represented India in an international match, even though he deserved to do so.

Jalaj Saxena achieved his peak in 2015, however, he was just unlucky to have never made it to the senior team. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had already cemented their spot in the national team and it was impossible for anyone to dethrone them. Back in 2012-13, Saxena had a dream Ranji tournament where he scored 769 runs at a whopping average of 70. He made it to India A squad and performed exceptionally well too, but he could not keep up the form enough to make Jadeja and Ashwin fight for the spot.

In the recently concluded Deodhar Trophy, Jalaj Saxena was impossible to pick as he was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 10 wickets and an average of just 10. In first-class cricket, Jalaj Saxena has taken 326 wickets at an average of 27. Furthermore, he has also scored over 6,000 runs in first-class cricket and completed the double of 6,000 runs and 300 wickets.