5 Active Indian cricketers who have played in a World Cup but not a single Test match
The Test format is the most challenging form of cricket, although it can be argued that the Cricket World Cup is the biggest stage of them all. India have seen reasonable success in both formats, having captured the ICC Test mace and the World Cup trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
Many cricketers have had the privilege of long careers in both the 50-over format and in Test match cricket for India, but some unlucky players have never donned the whites for their country.
In this article, we take a look at 5 Indian players who have featured in a World Cup game but never in a Test match.
#1 Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav was called up to the 2019 World Cup squad after contributing with both bat and ball in the matches leading up to the tournament. He played 7 games in India's campaign, but scored only one fifty against Afghanistan.
The all-rounder also didn't pick up any wickets in the tournament and bowled only 6 overs across the games he was involved in. Jadhav has played 64 ODIs and 9 T20Is in a career that has been plagued with injuries, but hasn't yet been called up to the Test squad.
Despite scoring 1223 runs in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy, the fourth highest aggregate in the history of the tournament, the all-rounder has never represented India in the longest format of the game. At 35, his days at the top level are numbered and he might have to retire without a Test cap to his name.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal was also part of India's 2019 World Cup squad and had a much more successful campaign than Jadhav, finishing with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 5.97. Although he was taken to the cleaners in a group stage match against England, the leggie has established himself as one of the first-choice spinners in the Indian lineup.
However, the diminutive spinner has never been called up to the national team's Test squad, and just why is anyone's guess. He is accurate and has a decent googly, and on paper, seems perfectly suited for Test cricket, just like his partner-in-crime Kuldeep Yadav.
India have been without a right-arm leggie for some time now in Tests and Chahal could excel in any future home series.
#3 Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan's strengths don't lie in his technique, which might be one of the reasons why he has never played 5-day cricket for India. However, in the final of the 2010 Duleep Trophy, he hit an astonishing double century for West Zone in the fourth innings in a chase of 536.
Since then, though, he hasn't been consistent enough in the domestic tournaments to warrant a place in India's Test team. India have also been blessed with world-class spinners, resigning his all-round abilities to little value.
Pathan was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad and played 6 games, but didn't get enough chances with the bat as the top order were in sublime form. He also chipped in with the ball, and bowled 35 overs at an economy rate of 4.77.
The Baroda man is not even in the reckoning for the limited-overs squads at the moment so it is safe to say that we will never see him in the whites.
#4 Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa was part of India's disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign. The right-hander played 3 group games but scored only 30 runs, with his dismissal against Bermuda (where he was caught by the sizeable Leverock at slip) etched in cricket history.
The batsman was soon dropped from the national setup and has played only 46 ODIs for India, without a single century to his name. After Uthappa's excellent stint with coach Pravin Amre, where he reinvented his game completely, he was expected to stake a claim for a Test cap, but the plan has sadly never come to fruition.
The 34-year-old's best years are past him, and with the wicket-keeper's role in Tests already having many players ahead of him in the pecking order, Uthappa probably won't feature for India in the longest format of the game.
#5 Mohit Sharma
After a couple of good seasons with the Chennai Super Kings, Mohit Sharma got a shock call-up to the Indian squad for the 2015 World Cup. He didn't disappoint, and picked up 13 wickets in the tournament in the team's semi-final run.
Sharma's bowling is built on variations and restricting the batsmen, so the fact that he has never played Test cricket for India doesn't really come as a big surprise. He has been decent for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy but has never been quite good enough for the international stage.
Sharma is now 31 years old, and like many other players on his list, we may never see him bowl with a red ball for India.