5 famous Indian cricketers who never played in the World Cup

Donning the nation's colors at the grandest carnival in world cricket - the World Cup - is a dream every cricketer hopes to achieve. While for some it comes to fruition, it isn't the case for a number of well known cricketers. Many big names have striven hard to make the cut for a place in the World Cup squad at least once, however, were unfortunate to miss out.

India is among the few countries which have punched above their weight in World Cups more often than not. They have clinched the title twice, once in 1983 and the other time most recently in 2011 and have made it to the semi-finals on multiple occasions. Needless to say, there has always been cut-throat competition for a spot in India's World Cup squad over the years.

On that note, here is a look at five popular Indian cricketers who failed to find a spot in the Indian squad for a single edition of the World Cup.

#5 Murali Kartik

We often see talented players slip through the cracks primarily because of the dominance of their contemporaries. Murali Kartik's case is a bit similar, though he wasn't entirely uncelebrated.

The left-arm spinner never enjoyed an extended run in his career, courtesy of his career coinciding with renowned spinners like Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Even after Kumble's retirement from international cricket, Kartik did not rise to prominence that dented his career.

Over the course of his international career, Kartik appeared in eight tests, 37 ODIs and a solitary T20I. In this stop-start career, he found relief on domestic grounds, with his domestic career spanning more than 17 years. Apart from his steadfast association with Railways, he also featured in the county competition for Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey.