Five celebrated foreign legends who failed in India in Test cricket

Aravinda de Silva: Matches: 10 Runs: 403 Avg: 25.18 100s: 1 HS: 110*

A veteran of 93 Tests, a bedrock of the Sri Lankan team for almost 20 years, a player who was a perfect amalgamation of skill, talent, flamboyance, grit, patience, perseverance, tenacity, and character. An ideal crisis-man. If you are a cricket fan of a certain vintage, if you close your eyes and think of all those attributes that I gave above, the name that will almost instantly come into your mind is Aravinda de Silva. He remains one of the most flamboyant batsmen to have ever graced this beautiful game.

The Sri Lankan belonged to a rare breed of Asian Cricketers who were equally proficient in handling both pace and spin. His ability to rock back onto the backfoot and ferociously pull the fastest bowlers in the world coupled with his mastery over reading the ball from the spinner’s hand made him a joy to watch. De Silva was a chief nemesis for Team India in the 1990s.

Who can forget his stunning counter-attack in the semi-finals of the 1996 World Cup? In Test too, he had a decent overall record against the Men in Blue. In 19 Tests against India, de Silva scored 1252 runs at an average of 41.73 including five half-centuries and three fifties. However, the Sri Lankan had his fair share of struggles in the Indian conditions. His numbers in India read: 403 runs across 17 innings [10 Tests] at an average of 25.18. Like de Silva, another Sri Lankan stalwart- Arjuna Ranatunga- also has a poultry record in India.

In 11 Tests, the former skipper could manage just 384 runs at an average of 20.21 with two half-centuries. The struggle of the two greats perhaps best explains the reason for Sri Lanka’s dire Test record in India.