10 Ranji performers who were ignored by the selectors

When the talent was ignoredFor a country that’s obsessed about cricket, the common dream of playing for the national team is cherished by all those who carry their kit regularly to the practice grounds. Yet it is only a handful of boys with supreme talent and quite a bit of luck that get to live the dream.For most, a place in the coveted XI remains elusive while the few who do get to don the Blue Cap a couple of times are often unceremoniously forgotten.India’s premier domestic league, the Ranji Trophy was once supposed to be the filter that separated international material from the common run-of-the-mill product. It was meant to harness the talent and shape the player into Valyrian steel.It is therefore immensely surprising to find cricketers ignored by national selectors in spite of consistently performing in the Ranji Trophy.Now, it can be argued that superior contemporaries in the Indian team often lead to no vacancy, which has been the case for Amol Muzumdar, Rashmi Parida and Shitanshu Kotak who were all born in the era of the Fab Four and never received a call-up in spite of their authority in the domestic circuit.However, there continue to be players who definitely used to be better than their contemporaries, but never received their deserving run in the national team, courtesy poor publicity and ignorance by the selectors.Here, the author takes a look at 10 such names.

#1 Wasim Jaffer

That Wasim Jaffer was, and is, a hard-working fellow was evident when Rahul Dravid expressed his liking for the man. And if that isn’t enough, the statistics do make a convincing case for him. Barely a week ago, he emerged as the first Ranji cricketer to complete 10,000 runs in the tournament alone.

With imposing figures and consistent run-making abilities, Jaffer is a familiar name in the domestic circuit. During his brief stint in India colors, Jaffer smacked a double ton in the Caribbean and displayed unflappable temperament against Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

With the dropping of Sehwag and Gambhir and India going through a rough patch opener-wise, one hoped vainly for his return into the folds, for the selectors in their mania for youth, had already marked him too old. The bulwark of Mumbai batting line-up and now Vidarbha, thus remains an unfinished tale even to this day.