3 Indian IPL specialists who failed in ODIs

There are a plethora of youngsters who come into the limelight each year due to the biggest domestic cricket league in the World – IPL. Many of these go on to get a chance in the national team – not just in the T20 format but in ODIs as well. However, there are very few players who have gone on to stick in the Team India squad.

It is intriguing to analyze that such well-known names could not do much for the national team even though they built so many expectations.

In this article, we will take a look at 3 Indian players who have been terrific in the IPL but could not make a massive impact in the national team. These are still amongst the most sought-after players in the domestic league.

#1 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa is one of the most experienced IPL players of all time and has played 165 matches for the multiple teams he has been part of. Another WK-Batsman, the 33-year-old got a plethora of opportunities playing in the Indian national team.

In the 46 ODIs the Karnataka-born player played for the Men in Blue, he could only score a total of 934 runs at an average of 25.94 – albeit his strike rate was a healthy 90.59. Uthappa made his ODI debut in 2006 and played his last ODI for India in 2015 against Zimbabwe.

Contrastingly, the right handed batsman has featured in every edition of the IPL and is still going strong. He is a loyal member of the Kolkata Knight Riders since the past five years and will be seen in the purple jersey of KKR in the coming edition as well. He has scored a massive 4129 runs in the IPL at an average of 28.67 (higher than his ODI average of 25.94 for India) and is the league's 5th highest run-getter of all time.

Uthappa was retained by KKR and will reportedly be paid a fee of ₹ 6.4 crores. His explosive batting style can cause plenty of problems for the opposition and he is one of the players to watch out for in the KKR line-up.

#2 Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Saha

Wriddhiman Saha is almost at the end of his International career. The talented WK-Batsman from Shaktigarh could never really find his place in the Indian ODI squad mainly because of the omnipresence of MS Dhoni. Now, Rishabh Pant has burst to the scene and is the favourite to start.

The 34-year-old made his ODI debut for India against New Zealand on Nov 28, 2010, and played his last ODI against Sri Lanka on Nov 09, 2014. In all, Saha only managed to play 9 ODIs for the Men in Blue – averaging just 13.67 and scoring at a strike rate of 73.21.

On the other hand, he has always been an important part of IPL and played in 115 matches. The veteran IPL player scored an overall 1679 runs with an average of 24.33 and strike rate of 129.85. The glovesman does, however, have a decent Test career with India and also became the first Indian wicketkeeper to take 10 catches in a single match.

The Right Handed Batsman has donned the jerseys of Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Kings XI Punjab and will now be seen in the colours of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2019.

Saha was picked up for ₹ 1.20 crore by the Sunrisers and will look to make an impact for them in order to have a shot at representing India at the World Cup.

#3 Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma is a force to reckon with in the IPL. However, the 30-year-old from Haryana could never really cement his place in the Indian Cricket team. His ability to provide crucial breakthroughs made him an important part of whichever team he played for in the IPL. The Ballabhgarh-born player has a lot of discipline and keeps his line and length where it should be.

With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Ishant Sharma the favourites in the Indian camp, Mohit has had an ordinary international career but an admirable T20 career, specifically in IPL.

In the 84 matches he has played in the IPL, Mohit has picked up 90 wickets at an economy rate of 8.4 and average of 26.64. If we look at his stats in ODIs for India – they are 26 matches, 31 wickets, an Economy rate of 5.46 and an average of 32.9.

Mohit was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for the 2019 IPL for a whopping ₹ 5 crores – which was 10 times his base price of ₹ 50 lakhs. Only time will tell if the speedster can justify his high price tag.

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Which are the other players you think should also be included in this list? Let us know in the comments section below.