3 great domestic pacers who failed to replicate their form in the international level

India is a difficult country for a fast bowler to ply his trade. With most of the pitches favouring the slower bowlers, the faster bowlers have a tough time on Indian grounds. That is one of the main reasons why India has produced very few quality pacers in the past.

Coming to our domestic circuit, bowling in the Ranji trophy and in the international level is completely different as the quality of opposition and type of pitches get changed. Though taking wickets at both levels are difficult, the international level is a true test for a fast bowler or for that matter any cricketer.

On that note, let us have a look at 3 such bowlers who have had a great Ranji career but were not able to impress for the country.

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#1 Pankaj Singh

Pankaj Singh, the lanky fast bowler from Rajasthan is one of the prime examples of a good Ranji bowler failing in the international level. Having started his domestic career with Rajasthan, Pankaj Singh soon came into the sight of the Indian selectors. With his height, he was able to generate a lot of bounce which enabled him to get selected to the Indian Test team for many overseas tours. However, he was not able to replicate his domestic form on the England and South African pitches which soon put him out of the selector's radar.

Pankaj Singh was fairly impressive at the beginning of the 2nd season of IPL with RCB but was not able to perform consistently. Though he was a part of the IPL for a few more seasons with various other teams, it did not help him as his limited-overs career never took off.

He is now playing domestic cricket for the newly promoted side Puducherry where his experience will be of value to the youngsters.

#2 Vinay Kumar

Vinay Kumar disappointed with his performances for the Indian team

R Vinay Kumar from Karnataka has arguably been one of the best fast bowlers in the Ranji Trophy. He has also contributed with the bat and his captaincy skills for Karnataka in the domestic circuit.

However, Vinay Kumar was a member of the limited-overs Indian team for some time. He also toured Australia and was part of one of the T20 World Cups. Barring a few good performances, Vinay Kumar never looked good for the Indian team. He leaked a lot of runs and his medium pace did not help the bowling attack. He was later sidelined from the national team and the Davangere lad is still picking wickets consistently for his state in domestic level.

Vinay has been good in the IPL with three IPL trophies. Though he was an integral part of the RCB setup for first three seasons, Vinay got his IPL success with KKR and Mumbai Indians in the later seasons. He was part of KKR this edition and was highly criticised for his expensive economy.

#3 Dhawal Kulkarni

Dhawal has been a fine bowler for Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals

Dhawal was considered as a bright prospect for the Indian team after his exploits with the Mumbai team in the domestic circuit. He was known for his swing and he took many wickets at the start of the innings.

When he played for India, Dhawal failed to repeat any of his performances which he gave in the Ranji trophy. He had a fair share of injuries in his career which did not help his career with the Indian team. He was dropped from the squad and the Mumbaikar is still a potent fast bowler in the domestic level.

Dhawal Kulkarni has been with Rajasthan Royals and Gujurat Lions in the past few seasons of the IPL. Though he had good spells of bowling, Dhawal could not stretch this for an entire season. Hence, limited-overs comeback to the Indian team has not been possible so far.