5 Indian players who were part of the World Cup squad but never got a game

The ICC Cricket World Cup is one of the world's largest sporting events. The inaugural edition of this momentous tournament was held in 1975 in England. The mega event is being played after every four years. In the history of the tournament, twenty nations have qualified to play the mega tourney at least once, out of which Australia has won the coveted trophy five times in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015. India has won it twice in 1983 and 2011, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have each won once in 1992 and 1996 respectively.

Given the magnitude of the World Cup, every cricketer dreams of representing his country at least once in the mega tournament and contributing his part to make his team become a champion. Over the years there have been numerous cricketers from all over the country who have had the privilege of taking part in the tournament.

And then comes the other category of exceptionally talented players who despite being picked in the squad never got a chance to play for their country in the World Cup. Here we take a look at five such cricketers who were extremely unlucky to miss out on representing their country in the World Cup despite being in the squad.

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#5 Ambati Rayudu

The journey of the former India U-19 skipper, Ambati Rayudu, in international cricket has been a roller coaster ride as the Andhra-born cricketer got to play only 45 ODIs since his debut in 2013. However, his exceptional batting show for CSK in the last IPL has changed his fate. Based on his imperious form he was picked back in the Indian team for Asia Cup.

The 33-year-old made the most of the opportunity and went on to become the most likely solution to India's number 4 position. With his consistent performances, Rayudu now has almost sealed a spot in the upcoming World Cup in England.

But not many know that Rayudu was also a part of India's 15-member squad selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. With Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina doing their job to perfection, Rayudu had not got even a single game under his belt.

Thus far the classic middle-order batsman has scored 1447 runs at an astounding average of 51.68 in 45 ODIs. He has also got 3 tons and 9 half-centuries in ODIs.

#4 Sanjay Bangar

Sanjay Bangar

The current batting coach of India, Sanjay Bangar, was known for his sound defensive batting skills and his medium pace bowling. Sanjay made his ODI debut against England at Chennai in 2002. He immediately made his mark in the bilateral ODI series against West Indies when India were chasing a mammoth total of 325 in the 4th ODI at Ahmedabad. Batting at Number 7 in a pressure situation, Bangar scored a quick-fire 41-ball-57 to help India pull off a thriller.

He just played 15 ODIs for India from 2002 to 2004. But not many remember that he was part of the Indian squad for the 2003 World Cup. With all the premier Indian batsmen in great form and with Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia available to take the extra batsman's role, Bangar did not get to play a single game.

Bangar represented India in 12 Tests and 15 ODIs and scored 1 ton and 4 half-centuries in all formats combined.

#3 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel made headlines when he made his debut against England in 2002 at the age of 17 years and 153 days to become the youngest wicket-keeper to play Test cricket.

Within just eight months after his debut, Parthiv Patel was included in the 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 as a specialist wicket-keeper but did not get a single game under his belt as the management decided to play an extra batsman with Rahul Dravid donning the wicket-keeper's role for the whole tournament. But the sad part is that Parthiv also missed out on his high-school board examinations during that period.

With the rise of MS Dhoni as a wicketkeeper-batsman and Parthiv's poor show behind the stumps, Parthiv's career slowly faded.

Parthiv represented India in 25 Tests, 38 ODIs and 2 T20Is and scored around 1700 runs with the help of 10 fifties in all formats combined.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is a highly talented wicket-keeper batsmen who, when on a song, is a treat to watch. Karthik is one of the unluckiest Indian wicket-keepers who has not got enough opportunities because of the exploits of Dhoni with both bat and gloves. Though Karthik made his debut back in 2004, he has thus far played only 86 ODIs.

Given his natural talent and his hard-working attitude, Karthik worked hard and made a comeback into the team as a specialist batsman many times. However, Karthik has not cemented his place in the Indian team yet.

Though he made a comeback into the team with the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and was tested for India's number 4 slot as a part of preparations for the upcoming World Cup, Karthik could not quite make use of those opportunities.

And it is not known to many that, Karthik was picked in the 15-member squad for the 2007 World Cup. But as India suffered an early exit from the tournament, Karthik, who was in the team as a backup wicket-keeper for Dhoni, did not got a single game.

Thus far Karthik has represented India in 26 Tests, 86 ODIs and 21 T20Is scoring around 3000 runs and inflicting 118 dismissals in all formats combined.

#1 Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan

When Irfan made his international debut, he was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Pathan modeled his action on Pakistan's swing sultan, Wasim Akram. Irfan was one of the very few fast bowlers who could swing the ball both ways. During his peak days, Pathan used to trouble even the best of the batsmen with his killer swing. He was also a handy batsman at the lower order.

But after the Chappell era, Irfan Pathan's swing had vanished and his pace had dropped considerably. After that, it did not take much time for the man who was once lauded as the next Kapil Dev for India to fade away.

Despite his dip in form, Pathan was picked in the World Cup squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 but as India played Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, and Ajit Agarkar in that short World Cup campaign, Irfan did not got a single game.

Irfan has played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is for India and has scored in excess of 2800 runs with the help of 1 ton and 11 half-centuries and mustered 301 wickets with the help of 9 5-wicket hauls in all formats combined.