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Remember the likes of Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina? What is conspicuously common to these Indians is that they are all IPL stalwarts; however, what people seemingly forget is the less discussed fact that these players, after being dropped from the Indian side, earned a stunning recall subsequent to proving their mettle in the T20 extravaganza. Despite being scorned as a commercial venture, this BCCI sponsored T20 tournament has served as a grand stage to showcase great talent. Cricketers, both national and international, have experienced turning points in their career through IPL. As the league attracts some of the best talents in the world of cricket and puts them all on one single arena, performing in IPL counts for far more than your run-of-the-mill domestic tourney.Here’s a list of some Indian cricketers who are currently sidelined and would want to capitalize on this eighth edition of IPL to earn an international call-up, like Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.
#1 Yuvraj Singh - Delhi Daredevils
The hero of 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh, is at present a forgotten champion, sadly. Despite possessing phenomenal batting talent, his poor show with the willow in the last few years have pushed him to cool his heels away from the Indian side.
He started his IPL career by captaining Kings XI Punjab, a franchise that represents his native state. He then had short stints with Pune Warriors and RCB. In the 2015 auctions, Yuvraj was bought for a whopping 16 crore rupees by Delhi Daredevils.
He last played an ODI for India in 2013 and did not represent the Indian T20 side after April 2014. He was even shockingly dropped from the 30-man World Cup probables earlier this year.
“It's been a couple of hard years for me since I have come back from my treatment. I am in good shape, I have worked very hard and I have had a good domestic season. I am confident of doing well and hope that things get better from here and I make it back into the team, Taking one step at a time and IPL is definitely the first step.” revealed Yuvraj at DD team event recently.
#2 Naman Ojha - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Naman Ojha, a strong bottom hand heavy wicket-keeper batsman, currently plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Pepsi IPL. He was earlier with Rajasthan Royals for two seasons before moving over to Delhi Daredevils in 2011 and then to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013.
Ojha is known as a powerful striker and his bludgeoning unbeaten knock of 36-ball 71 in IPL 2014 against Kings XI Punjab is the best testimony to this statement. As Team India has always found an able wicket-keeper batsman in its skipper M S Dhoni for all three formats of the game, it is quite natural that players like Ojha have been overlooked time and again.
Ojha racked up scores of 219, 101* and 110 in consecutive first-class innings against Australia in Australia for India A in December 2014 against a bowling attack that had players like James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh and Moises Henriques. No mean task, that.
This 31-year-old batsman has also been in a tremendous form this domestic season scoring 730 first class runs with an overwhelming average of 73. Ironical it may seem as he has represented India at the international level only once in an ODI against Sri Lanka at Harare way back in 2010 and made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe around the same time.
“I got runs in Australia, I have been scoring hundreds in India, Selection is not in my hands. I am just enjoying my performance and do not have any expectation.” expressed Ojha in an interview to cricbuzz.
Though he may not boast of very impressive figures in his five year long IPL career, considering the run making mode he is currently in, he will aim to maximize his chances.
#3 Gautam Gambhir - Kolkata Knight Riders
When it comes to Gautam Gambhir, one thing we easily remember is his priceless innings of 97 in the 2011 World Cup final which India won emphatically. Unfortunately, that is the last praiseworthy knock of his in international cricket. It has been more than two years since he donned the colors for the Indian team.
Gambhir was made to sit out from international cricket following his dismal form over a prolonged period. And some solid performances at the top order for Team India in the recent past has not given the selectors any opportunity to look for alternatives in other seniors.
Much can be criticised about his international form, but ever since Gambhir took over as the captain of KKR (from 2011), he has led the previously struggling team to two IPL trophies; once in 2012 and then in 2014.
This former Arjuna Award recipient has been KKR’s batting mainstay and in this edition of Pepsi IPL he has yet again been retained by the franchise. Moreover, he has 23 fifties to brag about in as many matches in IPL thus far and is among the top three leading run scorers in the tournament.
His fellow Delhiite and another dashing opener, Virender Sehwag once hailed this left-handed batsman as “the best Indian opener since Sunil Gavaskar”.
After being overlooked for the World Cup 2015 squad Down Under, Gautam Gambhir, who has astute leadership skills and big match temperament, will be looking to sneak his way into the Indian squad for the upcoming assignments.
#4 Dinesh Karthik - Royal Challengers Bangalore
"As long as Dhoni is around, I can't think of being the wicket-keeper batsman of the Indian team. My target is to score runs heavily so that I can be considered for selection as a batsman. So I have to concentrate on my batting." spoke a confident Dinesh Karthik when asked about his plans to return to international cricket.
The debonair stroke maker that he is, he finished as the second highest run-getter in the concluded Ranji Trophy season, amassing a total of 884 runs in 19 innings with back-to-back centuries in the semifinals and the final.
It indeed came as a huge surprise when he was sold for a humongous sum of 10.5 crores by Delhi Daredevils to RCB. Having been with DD for first three years, he has then played for Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians.
Karthik is an agile bloke behind the stumps and aggressive in front of it. Though Karthik did not have a great IPL last season with a below-par average of 23.21 in 14 matches, this resilient batsman has repeatedly delivered the goods in IPL eventually, no matter which franchise he has played for or how steep the targets have been.
The Tamil Nadu batsman has played 71 ODIs for India but has never been a constant member of the squad. This time around, he has more reasons than one to prove his mettle all over again as he dons the RCB cap.
#5 Irfan Pathan - Chennai Super Kings
Irfan Pathan is a prodigy whose supposed remarkable cricketing career lost direction and collapsed midway. Having begun his game in an awesome fashion in 2003, Pathan has slowly faded out of all cricketing scenes. This talented Baroda all-rounder will be remembered as the only bowler who took a hat-trick in the first over of a match, when he achieved this feat against Pakistan in 2006.
Fatefully, he has been left out of the services of Indian team since 2012 owing to inconsistency; frequent injuries only adding to his woes. He was often hailed as the best swing talent in the country and also drew comparisons with pace legend Wasim Akram, but too many changes to his bowling action and an unclear role within the team has plagued this left arm pacer’s career.
He, however, has been among the thick of things when it comes to IPL. Starting his T20 league career with Kings XI Punjab for the first three years, he was the team’s leading wicket-taker. Having played for Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad subsequently, he will represent CSK in the 2015 edition as the franchisee showed interest in him during the auctions.
As he has evolved through a decade-long career, Pathan has added a lot of variations to his armoury and can bat both up and down the order, offering the captain enough flexibility. In order to signal a selection into the national team, Pathan will have to play to his fullest potential and repeat the heroics of his early days.
