6 unlucky Indian cricketers who did not get enough chances in the Dhoni era
Some cricketers are incredibly unlucky to have been born at the wrong time. Despite a tremendous domestic record and impressive performances in the very few international matches they play, they are not considered for selection again. Some very talented Indian cricketers who churn out consistent performances at the domestic level are unfortunate to have not got enough opportunities under MS Dhoni.
Dhoni's over-reliance on under-performing yet familiar players can be questioned when there was no dearth of talented Indian all-rounders who were never given the long rope by the selectors. Let us look at six unlucky Indian cricketers who did not get enough chances in the Dhoni-era.
6. Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa was one of the promising youngsters who led India's charge during the Greg Chappell era. Some of his blistering knocks at the top of the order are still well remembered to this day. Because of his aggression, he was considered to be too rash at times which ultimately led to a series of failures.
But he was not given enough chances having only played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India. As a wicket-keeper and a lower middle-order batsman, Uthappa remains a valuable asset to any team. But the presence of MS Dhoni made a comeback almost impossible for him.
Uthappa has 9446 runs at an average of 40.71 in first-class cricket, and 6157 List A runs to go with it. His great form in the IPL, and for his domestic team across formats were ignored and he wasn't afforded a path back into the national team.
5. Parvez Rasool
At a time when India was desperately searching for an all-rounder, it is almost unthinkable that they have conveniently chosen to ignore Parvez Rasool. He was the standout performer for Jammu and Kashmir in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy season when he scored 594 runs at an average of 54 and took 33 wickets.
Rasool continued to impress at the domestic level where he was considered to be one of the premier all-rounders for years together. He has scored 4807 runs and picked up 266 wickets at the first-class level. He also has 2919 runs and 132 wickets in List A cricket.
Former great Bishan Singh Bedi was full of praise for Rasool's bowling. “Rasool is one bowler who isn’t afraid to flight the ball, and he loves to attack. The first time when I saw Parvez after taking over in 2011, I was stunned by his easy and side-ways action ...With a little bit of luck and backing from his skipper, Parvez has everything that a player needs to be successful at the international level,” Bedi said.
It is incredible that Rasool has played only 1 ODI and T20I for India and has never been called back to the side.
4. Dhawal Kulkarni
Be it in the Indian domestic circuit or in the IPL, Dhawal Kulkarni has been a consistent performer, picking up wickets at a canter. With 261 first-class wickets and 203 List A wickets in his kitty, his statistics speak for himself.
Since his inauspicious ODI debut against England at Birmingham in 2014 where he failed to pick up any wickets, he kept getting sporadic chances till he shot to international limelight for his performances against Sri Lanka in the home series in 2014.
He bowled well in the 4th ODI at Kolkata in the series coming away with career-best figures of 4 for 34. In the very next match at Ranchi, he picked up three wickets giving away 57 runs. But he was dropped after the series and not considered for selection till against Bangladesh in June 2015.
Kulkarni last appeared for India in the ODI series against New Zealand in 2016 and has failed to break back into the squad ever since. He has 19 ODI wickets from 12 matches with best figures of 4 for 34 - certainly not bad enough to merit an exclusion.
3. Kedar Jadhav
Having scored nearly 5,000 first-class runs at an impressive average of over 45, it was long believed that it would be a matter of time until Kedar Jadhav made his debut for India. His opportunity came against Sri Lanka at Ranchi in 2014 where Jadhav scored 20 runs in his debut match and was dropped soon after.
He was called back for India's tour of Zimbabwe in 2015. Though he failed to impress in the first two ODIs, he played a memorable knock in the 3rd ODI powering his way to a blistering 105. He had walked in with India tottering at 82 for four which made his innings even more special.
Jadhav can don the keeper's gloves and has already proved his mettle as a finisher. "In whatever opportunities I get, I want to establish myself as a finisher. What I want to do is win games for India. I don't want to be someone who scores a flashy 70-80, like I did in the Quadrangular series and get out when the team needs just 30-odd runs. I want to finish games," Jadhav said.
The century seemed to have given him the break he was waiting for, but he had to wait until the middle of 2016, and another tour of Zimbabwe to play for India again. He has since been an integral part of the Indian ODI side and shown that he is a more than handy off-spinner as well. But at 35, it doesn’t look like he will have a long international career which his numbers demand.
2. Manoj Tiwary
Having scored 8965 first-class runs at an average of 50.36, Manoj Tiwary has always been one of the foremost cricketers from Bengal who has never been given the long rope by the selectors. His is a strange and inexplicable case as he has never been given enough chances though he has done well for the Indian team.
After his unsuccessful debut against Australia at Brisbane in 2008, he was not considered for the next three years until he made his comeback against the West Indies in 2011. After this, he kept getting sporadic chances and was in and out of the team which did not help his cause.
He played in the 5th ODI against West Indies that year. Coming into bat when India had lost two wickets with 1 run on the board, he scored a brilliant unbeaten century and was awarded the Man of the Match for his effort. But he was dropped even after his century and did not get a chance to play for 14 matches after that.
He made a comeback as an all-rounder replacing Rahul Sharma at Colombo the next year and picked up four wickets, also scoring 21 runs to go with it. He followed it up with a brilliant 65 in the next game at Pallekele. He was in the squad for the Commonwealth Bank tri-series and the Asia Cup in 2012 but failed to get any chances.
He was only picked for a lone match against Bangladesh in 2014 after this and the ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2015. There could not be a case more baffling than his!
1. Naman Ojha
One of the best wicket-keeper batsmen in India's domestic circuit for some time now, Naman Ojha has been hugely unlucky to have been born in the Dhoni-era. With a first-class average of 41.67 and 9753 runs in his kitty, Ojha would have laughed his way into any team as a quality wicket-keeper batsman.
He has 4278 runs in List A cricket and 2978 runs at a strike-rate of almost 120 in domestic T20 competitions. His brilliant performances for India A which include a double hundred and two centuries from four innings in Australia in 2014 was a high point in his career. His 219 which came off 250 balls at Brisbane in July 2014 showcased batting abilities of a very high calibre.
He has also played quite a few important knocks for the Rajasthan Royals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Ojha was initially touted to replace Dhoni in Tests until Wriddhiman Saha got the nod ahead of him. With age not on his side, Naman Ojha might well be one of the unluckiest cricketers of his generation.