2 Indian cricketers who deserved a longer run

The Indian cricket team has given the world some exceptional talents across the generations. Be it the "Haryana hurricane" Kapil Dev or the original little master Sunil Gavaskar, the list of cricketing greats produced by India has been endless.

In the early 90s, the world witnessed another cricketing genius in the form of Sachin Tendulkar, who went on to all the significant batting records in the world. Among the current generation of cricketers, captain Virat Kohli has taken forward the legacy of Tendulkar, his idol.

Rohit Sharma: An apt case study

It is fascinating to witness the skills these cricketers have shown time and again. However, most of them did not have the best of starts to their career. Be it Tendulkar, Kohli or MS Dhoni, all had a string of average matches to start off their careers.

But they were persisted with by their skippers, allowing them a fair share of opportunities.

New Zealand v India - ODI Game 5

Rohit Sharma could be a prime example in this regard. He recently completed the feat of 200 ODIs for India, an extraordinary achievement by the Mumbai batsman.

However, Sharma had a really torrid initial phase in the Indian side. It took him more than 39 innings to score his maiden century in ODIs, in what turned out to be an extended run.

The fact that the team management persisted with him speaks volumes of the faith they had in the Mumbai lad, who eventually has turned out to be one of the best openers in limited overs cricket.

However, not all cricketers had their share of luck; many of them disappeared after promising starts in their career. Here, we take a look at two cricketers from the last two decades who definitely deserved a longer run in the side.

1. Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif exults after a memorable victory in the Natwest final against England

Mohammad Kaif gained immortality in the fans' memories courtesy his match winning innings in the Natwest series final of 2002. However, those same fans probably don't recall how he vanished from the international scene all of a sudden.

The irony in Kaif's case is that he registered his highest Test score of 148 against West Indies in a series which eventually turned out to be his last.

In 13 Test matches, Kaif scored 624 runs at an average of 32.8. In 125 ODIs, he amassed 2753 runs while averaging 32. Apart from being a good batsman, Kaif was also a superb fielder and impacted plenty of dismissals courtesy his sharpness in the field.

Kaif would have surely not imagined being dropped from the side after scoring a career-best 148. He was someone who would have been an asset to the Indian side in the MS Dhoni era of cricket, which emphasized fielding standards highly.

2. Amit Mishra

Amit Mishra would rue the fact that he could not cement a place in the side

Amit Mishra has been in the international circuit for close to 16 years now, yet his journey has seen more lows than highs. The fact that Mishra has played a total of 68 games for India in the 16 years, across all formats, is proof enough of his on-off journey with the national side.

In 22 Test matches, Mishra has picked up 76 wickets while in 36 ODIs, he has 64 wickets under his belt. In fact, the last one-day series he played for India, Mishra turned out to be a golden arm for his team, picking up a second 5-wicket haul of his career, thus helping India crush New Zealand in a must-win encounter.

The Haryana leg-spinner has been unlucky in the sense that he started his career at the same time when India had the services of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. The Indian spin duo managed to dominate their oppositions bowling in tandem, making life difficult for other spinners to become regulars in the side.

Though Mishra did impress in the domestic and IPL seasons, with age not on his side, the selectors seem to have moved on from him.