4 forgotten players from the 2005-06 Indian team

The Indian team went through a lean patch during the period between 2005 and 2007 when Greg Chappell was the coach. In fact, few Indian cricketers of that time have openly called that period as the worst of their careers.

The 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where India crashed in the group stages, further summed up everything and was the lowest point in the Indian cricket.

One possible reason for the lean patch was lack of promising talent in the team. The hallmark of a great team is the blend of experience and youth. Unlike contemporary times, India did not have a talent in abundance.

The captain tried hard to groom players but it did not work out as the players kept making the same mistakes again and again.

Hence, many players from that era, who played for India faded away soon and are nowhere to be seen now. Let us take a look at 4 players from the Indian team of 2005-06 who faded away from the limelight in due course of time.

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#4 Dinesh Mongia

Dinesh Mongia, one of the talents groomed by Sourav Ganguly did not go on to make it big at the international level. A left-handed batsman and a part-time left-arm orthodox spinner, Mongia appeared in 57 ODIS and 1 T20I for India during the early and mid-noughties.

His figures in ODI cricket were not astonishing, 1230 runs from 57 ODIS at an average of 28. The best he could ever perform for India was 159 vs Zimbabwe in 2002. Mongia played India's first ever T20I which also happens to be his lone T20 international. Because of mediocre performances, he was not picked for 2007 World Cup and was cast aside soon. Dinesh Mongia also played the controversial and now-defunct ICL.

Surprisingly, Mongia was never picked by any of the IPL teams ever, even though he was relatively young during the early years of the IPL. Mongia turned out to be another first-class cricket veteran who could not replicate the same success in international cricket.

#3 VRV Singh

Vikram Raj Vir Singh, a.k.a VRV Singh was a fast bowler during Rahul Dravid's era as a captain who looked to show some promise before his career went nowhere.

VRV Singh has played 5 Tests and 2 ODIS picking 8 and 0 wickets respectively. After making his ODI debut in April 2006 against England, he was picked on India's tour to West Indies later that year, where he was handed his Test cap.

Vikram showed lack of wicket-taking abilities and hence had to be shown exit doors as the team management could not persist with him for long. He played few IPL games for the Kings XI without much success and could never pave his way back into the Indian side.

#2 Venugopal Rao

Venugopal Rao, the Andhra Pradesh batsman was a regular in the Indian middle-order during the Chappell era of the Indian cricket. He went on to play 16 ODIs for India and hardly showed any promise.

Rao managed only 218 runs at a dismal average of 24, going past fifty only once in his career and scoring no hundreds. These numbers make a very poor reading. Rahul Dravid as a captain tried to groom Venugopal, but he never delivered the goods.

Soon, he was axed from the side and did not play for India after May 2006. Venugopal did play the IPL for few years enjoying little success in 65 games that he played but was never considered for Indian selection again.

#1 Ramesh Powar

Ramesh Powar, the off-spinner from Mumbai played 2 Tests and 31 ODIS for India predominantly during the 2005-06 per. Powar made his debut against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in March 2004 and stayed in the team as a specialist off-spinner for a couple of years. His best bowling figures in ODI cricket were 3/24 and has scored an ODI fifty once. Apart from that, there is not much to talk about.

Because of being overweight, he was not an agile guy in the field. Lack of fitness hampered his career badly and soon Powar faded away from the international scene and was never seen in Indian colors again.

He played the IPL for Kochi Tuskers and the Kings XI Punjab for few years without much success. Powar picked 36 wickets in ODI cricket and made his last appearance in October 2007.