5 popular Indian ODI stars who retired without playing a Test ft. Kedar Jadhav
The Indian cricket team has been quite dominant over the last few decades. India played the final of the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship Final last year, while in 2022, they made it to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup.
One of the major reasons behind India's success has been the abundance of talent available in the nation. Every year, new stars emerge from the IPL, thereby making the selectors' job tougher to pick a squad of 15.
Since there are so many talented players in India, it is quite difficult for the selectors to give an equal opportunity to all. There have been instances of a player getting picked in white-ball formats while being ignored for red-ball matches despite having a good record in other formats. Here's a list of five such Indian ODI stars who retired without playing a Test.
5 Indian ODI stars who retired without playing a Test
#1 Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav announced retirement from all formats of cricket earlier this month. He played his last professional game in the Maharashtra Premier League, captaining the Kolhapur Tuskers.
Jadhav's last appearance for India came in an ODI against New Zealand in 2020. He played 73 ODIs for India, aggregating 1,389 runs at an average of 42.09. The all-rounder also represented the country in the 2018 Asia Cup and 2019 ODI World Cup. However, he did not get a chance to play in the longest format for India.
#2 Yusuf Pathan
Two-time World Cup winner Yusuf Pathan represented the Men in Blue in 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is. The all-rounder lifted the T20 World Cup 2007 and ODI World Cup 2011 with India.
However, the team management never picked him in the Test team. For the record, Pathan played 100 first-class matches, amassing 4,825 runs and picking up 201 wickets with his off-spin.
#3 Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu was a member of India's 2015 ODI World Cup squad, but he did not get a single game. The Guntur-based batter narrowly missed out on a place in the 2019 ODI World Cup team.
Despite never playing a World Cup game, Rayudu represented the nation in total 55 ODIs, aggregating 1,694 runs in 50 innings. He had over 6,000 runs to his name in first-class cricket. However, he never received a Test cap.
#4 Ashok Dinda
Former Indian pacer Ashok Dinda played 13 ODIs and nine T20Is for the country. He was the lead pacer for Bengal in domestic cricket for a long time. In fact, he took 400+ wickets in first-class cricket as well.
However, the team management never picked him in India's Test playing XI. He played his last first-class game for Bengal in the 2019-20 domestic season.
#5 Venugopal Rao
All-rounder Venugopal Rao was a regular part of the Indian ODI team in 2005 and 2006. He made his debut on July 30, 2005, against Sri Lanka, and by May 23, 2006, he had already played 16 ODIs for the nation, scoring 218 runs.
Rao had over 7,000 runs and 66 wickets in first-class cricket, but the Visakhapatnam-based player never donned the whites for the Indian team in his career.