5 great Indian cricketers who have never won the Ranji Trophy
Cricket is considered a religion in this country. Every 5-year-old dreams of playing cricket for India when he grows up. He dreams of achieving greatness in the sport.
Now, this is not an easy dream to fulfil. One has to practise with dedication every day as he climbs up the ranks of Indian cricket. To become one of the greats, you have to first get selected in the team. You have to perform consistently in the domestic tournaments and catch the eyes of the selectors.
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Ranji Trophy is probably the most significant of all the domestic tournaments played in India. If you want to play for the country one day, you have to have brilliant performances in the Ranji Trophy.
Some of the Indian cricketing greats have gone on to win the Ranji Trophy in their domestic careers. However, a few have not been able to win the trophy even once till date. Here, we list five such cricketers who have achieved greatness at the International level but have never won a Ranji Trophy.
#5 Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh, or Bhajji, as he is called by his teammates, is one of the most successful off-spinners in the world. He is the first Indian to take a hat-trick in a Test match and was an integral part of India’s 2011 World Cup winning squad.
One would think, a cricketer of his stature must have achieved a lot in domestic cricket as well. Indeed, on a personal note, his statistics are enviable but he never won the Ranji Trophy.
He made his Ranji debut for Punjab in 1997 and is in Punjab’s current squad. In a domestic career spanning almost two decades, it is surprising that a player of his stature has never won the coveted trophy.
Harbhajan made it to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy with Punjab on four occasions. Last year, his team crashed out in the quarter-finals. However, there is still time for him to remove his name from this list.