3 Indian batsmen who had an abrupt end to their ODI career

Cricket is not the national sport of India but it is the most popular sport in the country. Moreover, calling cricket a 'sport' in India would be a misnomer; most Indians consider it as a religion.

The popularity of the game increased manifold after the memorable 1983 World Cup, when the Indian team won the prestigious title of 'world champions'.

Kapil Dev with the 1983 World Cup

Today, millions of talented aspiring cricketers are eager to represent the country at the international stage. But to make it to the Indian squad you require tons of dedication, hard-work and persistence.

Team India is renowned to produce exceptional batsmen in the international cricket arena. However, there have been a few talented Indian batsmen who, despite having an enormous amount of talent, could not finish their limited overs career on a high note.

Here are three talented batsmen who had an abrupt end to their one-day careers.

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#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa became an overnight sensation when he scored a brilliant 86 against England in his debut ODI match. His improvisation skills were way ahead of his time, which made him a dangerous batsman in the eyes of many.

The Karnataka born player became a regular feature in the Indian limited overs side after this dream debut in 2006. Uthappa was selected in the Indian squad for the 2007 World Cup, which turned out to be an awful tournament for the Men in Blue. However, the Indian team emerged as the world champions in the first edition of the T20 World Cup later in the same year.

Uthappa played a few crucial knocks for his team in the tournament, and his phenomenal performances grabbed eyeballs in every corner of the world. His ability to bat anywhere in the batting order made him a vital asset to the team.

Unfortunately however, his form dipped considerably after the Asia Cup of 2008 and he was dropped from the team. The right-handed batsman made a comeback in the year 2014 against Bangladesh and scored a well-compiled half-century, but he lacked consistency in the next seven matches and was eventually dropped.

Uthappa could never make it back to the national side again but continued to play in the domestic circuit. He featured for India in 46 ODI matches, scoring 934 runs.

#2 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh - one of India's biggest match-winners

Yuvraj Singh stormed into world cricket as a superstar with his match-winning knock of 84 against Australia in his debut game, which was played in the ICC Champions Trophy in the year 2000.

Yuvraj is one of the greatest match-winners in the history of Indian cricket, and his heroic performance in the 2011 World Cup will never be forgotten. In his ODI career, Yuvraj managed to score 8701 runs at a good average of 36.56 and a solid strike rate of 87.

After the famous World Cup win, Yuvraj stayed away from cricket for almost 20 months due to cancer, and could never stamp his authority again in the game. His poor show in the 2014 T20 World Cup final earned immense criticism and he was dropped from the Indian side.

He made a tremendous comeback in the year 2017, scoring a brilliant 150 against England. Unfortunately though, he could not perform consistently with the bat and was never reconsidered for selection after the West Indies tour in 2017.

Despite his immaculate hand-eye coordination and extraordinary skills, the left-hander failed to end his career on a high note.

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#1 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir came into the limelight when he scored his first century against a strong Sri Lankan side in the year 2005. Gambhir stitched together a much-needed 128-run partnership with Rahul Dravid for the fourth wicket and ensured a decent first innings total for his team.

He became a regular feature for India in all three formats of the game and played numerous match-winning innings with the bat. His partnership with Virender Sehwag at the top of the order was widely celebrated, and his knock of 97 in the 2011 World Cup final is considered one of the best innings in the history of one-day cricket.

The Delhi-born batsman was dropped from the Indian side in 2013 and could never make a comeback despite scoring seven half-centuries and two centuries in his last 25 innings for India. The southpaw scored over 5000 ODI runs in his decade-long career.