7 Indian batsmen who fell off the selectors' radar for not being flamboyant enough
Throughout the history of cricket, India has been famous primarily for two kinds of players – spinners and batsmen. And while the Indian team has been lucky to always have excellent spinners, batting has become their biggest strength in the last couple of decades. In this period, the cricketing world has seen a number of flamboyant batsmen play for India.
However, there were also some batsmen who performed quite decently, but perhaps lacked in the flamboyance department, because of which they eventually fell off the selectors’ radar. We look at seven such cases from India’s recent cricketing history.
1. Ambati Rayudu
The most recent instance of a batsman losing out on his place in the Indian team perhaps due to lack of glitz is that of Ambati Rayudu.
There isn't too much wrong with Rayudu’s ODI statistics, as he has scored 1694 runs in 55 matches at a fabulous average of 47.05 and a decent strike rate of slightly over 79. However, he does tend to fall short in terms of being an impact player like Kohli, Rohit, or Dhawan.
In his career so far, Rayudu has managed to get the 20s and 30s regularly, and he has even got a few fifties here and there. He also has three centuries which came against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies respectively.
But his exploits with the bat have not created the kind of impression which could convince the selectors to retain him in the Indian squad.
2. Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif began his Test career in the year 2000 and had a short initial run before being dropped from the side. He became a regular member of the ODI side though, thanks to some memorable performances – particularly the unbeaten 87 in the 2002 Natwest Tri-series final – and because of his exemplary fielding skills.
The year 2004 saw Kaif return to the Test team once again and he started off well, scoring two half-centuries against Australia. His form slipped for a short while after that but he recovered by scoring a fighting 91 against England in early 2006.
On the West Indies tour that followed, Kaif scored his maiden Test century, an unbeaten 148; he had a decent series overall with 226 runs at a 56-plus average. However, as luck would have it, he was shown the door from the Test team just when he had started to find his footing.
If you think about it, Kaif was nowhere near some of the other great players in the team when it came to being flamboyant, and that is probably what went against Kaif in the end.
3. Wasim Jaffer
Being less flamboyant has also taken its toll on Indian batsmen who made it to the team on the grounds of a brilliant domestic record, the greatest example being that of Wasim Jaffer.
The Mumbai batsman came into the Test frame in the year 2000, only to go out and return in 2002. His second stint in the team was another disappointment, though, and Jaffer was out of the picture yet again.
But his comeback in 2006 turned out to be a case of ‘third time lucky’ as he hit a maiden century against England at home.
Jaffer made his opportunities count as he got his first double hundred in the subsequent away series against West Indies. Post that too, he did get occasional fifties and the odd century, the last of his career being another double against Pakistan in 2007.
However, with a flamboyant opener like Sehwag being on the other end and talented batsmen like Gambhir knocking at the doors, Jaffer finally managed to go out of favour with the selectors.
4. Shiv Sunder Das
Shiv Sunder Das opened the innings on a regular basis for India between the years 2000 and 2002. It did not take Das too long to settle down after making his debut as he scored his first century in just his third Test match.
That was a time when India was not used to seeing openers getting big runs, so the diminutive batsman’s consistent half-centuries made him look pretty decent. But he never really qualified as a flamboyant batsman compared to the bigger stars who were already part of the Indian Test line-up.
After getting his second century, Das suffered from a slump in form as he did not get a single fifty in the 10 innings that followed. This turned out to be the perfect time for the selectors to intervene and bring an end to his international career.
5. Sadagoppan Ramesh
Although he was handed a tough assignment on debut, being asked to face up to bowlers of the calibre of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Sadagoppan Ramesh performed quite well for himself. He got three half-centuries in his first five innings, and his first century came in his fourth Test – an innings of 143 against Sri Lanka. He was quick to get another one three Tests later.
However, Ramesh’s form went downhill after that, and he never really managed to recover. He scored 40s and 50s now and then, but there were no knocks of significant impact. To add to that, the southpaw also lacked in the flamboyance department.
As a result of this, Ramesh went out of the Indian Test team despite scoring a fifty in his final innings. He did not appear on the selectors’ radar after that.
6. Hemang Badani
Among the many players who made an appearance in the Indian ODI team in the early 2000s was left-handed batsman Hemang Badani. In a career spanning four years, he scored close to 900 ODI runs, the highlight being a century against Australia in 2001.
However, Badani’s career coincided with the time when Indian cricket saw some flamboyant young players like Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh break into the ODI team. They were quick to make the kind of impact which the southpaw had been unable to make in the years that he had spent in the team.
2004 turned out to be Badani’s final year in ODI cricket and he did not get another call-up after that.
7. Sanjay Bangar
Sanjay Bangar started off his career as a lower-order batsman but was soon promoted to the opener’s slot where he had decent success. Bangar scored his maiden century in just his second Test, but a string of low scores followed that before he was moved to the top of the order.
After a brief period of success as opener, things quickly started to fall apart for him, and he was removed from the Test side. However, more than his lack of form, it was perhaps Bangar’s lack of flamboyance compared to his peers, which forced his career to be cut short by the selectors.