5 Uncapped Indian players who faded away

The game of cricket is very unpredictable and one never knows which player is going to make it big. The ICC Under-19 World Cup and domestic tournaments act as a harbinger of the arrival of prospective senior cricketers. There have been many players, who after achieving success at the junior and domestic levels, have been picked by the IPL franchises in the auctions and have done wonders for their teams. This has also paved the way for them to make their much-awaited international debut for India. However, in the history of the game, we have witnessed cricketers who looked promising and made headlines at the beginning of their career but could never find the spot in the Indian national cricket team owing to their inconsistency or poor form in the long run. These players gradually got lost in the midst of other rising cricketers. Here let’s take a look at 5 Indian uncapped star players who faded away: 1. Baba Aparajith Baba Aparajith. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images) The all-rounder Baba Aparajith had first made headlines with his successful stint in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012. He had accumulated 171 runs in 6 innings at an average of 28.5 and was the fourth-highest run-getter in the marquee event. Aparajith had also bagged 5 wickets at an average of 35. 8. Aparajith’s heroics in the tournament resulted in him becoming a mainstay in India A squad along with performing for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit. The right-hander has 3952 runs and 46 wickets to his name in 78 first-class games. He also has garnered 2887 runs and 43 scalps in 77 List A fixtures along with featuring in 43 T20 games scoring 806 runs at an average of 25.2 and strike rate of 108.5. Despite getting included in the Chennai Super Kings squad for the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League, Aparajith couldn’t make his IPL debut. He was benched by CSK for three years and then by Rising Pune Supergiant, who had picked him in 2016, for two years. 2. Vijay Zol Vijay Zol. (Photo by Francois Nel – IDI/IDI via Getty Images) The left-handed middle-order batsman Vijay Zol was a part of two U-19 World Cup squads. He played as a middle-order batsman in the 2012 edition and was named the captain for the 2014 edition of the tournament. India had won the 2012 edition and Vijay had contributed by smashing 151 runs at an average of 25.7 with his best performance coming against Papua New Guinea. While in the 2014 edition, he couldn’t lead the team to the title and scored just 120 runs in the tournament. Zol had a promising start in the domestic circuit for India as he had smashed a ton on his India ’A’ debut against New Zealand ‘A’ along with scoring a double hundred on his Ranji debut for Maharashtra. Vijay has featured in just 15 first-class games and scored 733 runs at an average of 34.90 and a strike rate of 51.6. He also has 546 runs under his belt in 19 List A games at an average of 28.7. Impressed with his talent with the willow, the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals picked him for the 2014 edition. However, the Maharashtra stalwart failed to make a mark as he played only three IPL matches garnering 29 runs at an average of 14.5, 16 being his highest score. 2014 was his last run in the T20 extravaganza as no other franchise showed interest in the cricketer. 3. Taruwar Kohli Taruwar Kohli. (Photo by Stanley Chou/Getty Images) Other than the current Indian team skipper Virat Kohli, there was another Kohli who was instrumental in leading India to victory in the 2008 U-19 World Cup. Taruwar Kolhi was exceptional with the bat in the marquee event as he scored 218 runs in 6 matches at an average of 43.60 and with the highest score of 63*. After a successful stint in the Under-19 World Cup, Taruwar started playing for Punjab in the domestic circuit. He has decent first-class and List A records with 3301 runs in 46 first-class games at an average of 46.5 along with 1183 List A runs in 56 fixtures at an average of 34.8. The right-hander made his IPL debut for the Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural edition of IPL. However, he could feature in only four matches throughout his IPL career aggregating 11 runs at an average of 3.67. 4. Unmukt Chand Unmukt Chand. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images) The captain of the Indian cricket team who won the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 hosted by Australia, Unmukt Chand had impressed one and all with his leadership skills and heroics with the willow. He was the highest run-getter in the U-19 World Cup 2012 with 246 runs under his belt in 6 innings at an average of 49.20. He also held the record of most boundaries and most sixes throughout the event. However, Unmukt’s career never took off. He was roped in by Delhi Capitals for 2011 edition but his performance wasn’t flattering. In his IPL career, he has played 21 matches thus far, accumulating merely 300 runs at an average of 15 and a strike rate of mere 100. His maiden IPL fifty came 4 years later in 2015 against Mumbai Indians. Chand failed to perform in the domestic circuit too as he could manage only 3379 runs in 67 first-class matches at an average of 31.6. These stats were never enough for Unmukt Chand to get a call for international debut and thus the hero of 2012 U-19 World Cup slowly fizzled away from the memory of people. 5. Paul Valthaty Paul Valthaty. (Photo Source: Twitter) The right-handed opening batsman from Maharashtra, Paul Valthaty was a revelation for the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab in the 2011 edition. Paul had hogged all the limelight by playing a sensational knock of an unbeaten 120 off just 63 deliveries when his team were chasing a huge target of 189 posted by the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. He was the first batsman to score a century in IPL 2011. That year was truly a breakthrough year for the right-hander as he smacked 463 runs in 14 games with one ton and two half-centuries. He also managed to maintain an average of 35.61 and a strike rate of 136.98 in the season. His run tally was the sixth-highest that year, behind star players like Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Paul was being deemed as the next big thing in the Indian cricket, however, a wrist injury changed everything. Valthaty’s career took a complete U-turn as he could never repeat the heroics of the 2011 edition again, which eventually resulted in his exclusion from the Indian league. Now, he plays for Air India where he got a job based on the sports quota.

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5 Uncapped Indian players who faded away

These players weren't short in talent, but could never substantiate their potential.

3. Taruwar Kohli

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