5 batsmen who did not live upto their potential

#3 Ravi Bopara

Inconsistency was Bopara's forte

The story of Ravi Bopara’s career has been one of great success occasionally with many disappointments in between. With supple wrists which show his Indian lineage and good timing, Bopara was always a very capable batsmen.

But he repeatedly established himself in the side only to suddenly lose his way. He first made a mark in ODI cricket when he, along with Stuart Broad, rescued England from a position of little hope in an ODI against India and got them a crucial win.

When he got into the Test side, there was initial struggle but when given a second chance in 2009, he produced three hundreds in three successive innings against West Indies in an effort that seemed to book his place in the Test side.

But disaster followed when he was chosen to bat at No 3 in the Ashes that year. He failed miserably and conceded his place in the team to Jonathan Trott who made it his own. He had another go in the Test side in 2011 but again failed to deliver. However, in 2012, he proved successful in ODI cricket and forced his way back into the longer format.

He played the first Test against South Africa in which he failed and then suddenly, withdrew from the squad citing ‘personal reasons.’ England stuck by him in ODI’s but he looked hopelessly out of place rest of the year and exited the team.

The selectors gave him another chance in 2013 and he seemed somewhat revitalized and started making useful contributions. This included a hundred against Ireland where he, along, with Eoin Morgan took England to a comfortable win after the top-order collapsed.

The duo had combined to good effect in the Champions Trophy Final that year against India also but on the doorstep of victory, both got out on successive deliveries to give India the title.

Bopara continued to be in the ODI team but no longer as a leading batsmen but as a batting all-rounder, often chipping in with good bowling efforts. However, his career went down with England’s humiliating first-round exit in the 2015 World Cup and there was no place for him in the revamped English team that emerged after the World Cup.

There is very little hope that he would represent England again. In all likelihood, he would join the likes of Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick as a special talent that failed to live up to the expectations of their peers.