Over the years, the demands and want for specialists have meant that players have been selected specifically based on formats. One of the more prolific examples that come to mind is that of Tymal Mills, who has strictly played only T20I cricket for England.
There are also a few Indian stars who play just the one format. Here’s a look at five such current players:
5.Murali Vijay(Tests)
One of India's most batsman in the last five years. Murali Vijay may not have too much to show for himself when it comes to coloured clothing, but can surely be proud of his performances in Test cricket.
Ever since making his comeback to the Indian team in 2013, Vijay has been a constant presence at the top of the order, even as the partners at the other end of the opening wicket have varied constantly.
Hundreds in England, Australia and Bangladesh have meant that the right-hander has established himself as one of the vital cogs of the batting line-up and he will look to keep that going.
He remained in contention for a place in the World Cup squad, but could not find a mention. His last appearance for India in a coloured shirt came on the tour to Zimbabwe in 2015.
4.Suresh Raina(T20Is)
Once a permanent member of both the ODI as well as the T20I teams, Suresh Raina's stocks as an international cricketer has been on the downward curve for a while now. The left-hander last played an ODI for India in October 2015 in the home series against South Africa and ever since has only played in the T20 format for India.
There is still a great amount of doubt over his Test career and whether that will restart or not.
For now, though, Raina is among the few players in Indian cricket who plights his trade in just the one format ad he will hope that tide changes soon for him and he plays more regularly for the Indian cricket team.
3.Ishant Sharma(Tests)
The tall pacer, who will complete a decade in international cricket in a few months, started out a three-format cricketer but has been restricted to Test cricket primarily to the longer format of the game in the past 12 months and more.
Ishant's last ODI for India was in January 2016 after which he has not played a game in coloured clothing for his country.
His last T20I for India came in October 2013 and it does not seem like in the near future, he would wear the India Blue. But if he can continue performing the way he has been in Tests, there is no reason why he can't be an excellent one-format bowler.
2.Cheteshwar Pujara(Tests)
The rock of the Indian Test batting line-up, Cheteshwar Pujara was initially touted as someone who could play all three formats, after his initial exploits in Test cricket.
Picked to play in the tour to Zimbabwe in 2013, The 29-year-old could not get going as well as he would like to have, thereby being judged as someone not equipped for white-ball cricket, yet.
A year later, Pujara was picked again for the tour to Bangladesh, but again he failed to show his prowess, albeit on pitches that suited the quicks.
His place in the Test side came into question last year, but his response to that has been quite superb as he notched up runs against each of the teams who featured in the home season.
The Indian limited overs setup right now seems to have the right balance and so it seems difficult to fit in a player like Pujara, but surely in a couple of players if he can maintain what he is doing right now, he could be considered for selection.
1.Ashish Nehra(T20Is)
The wise old man of Indian cricket, Ashish Nehra has had a career in cricket which he would surely tell his grandkids about in future.
For his story has been no less than a fairytale. Having made his international debut in 1999, Nehra has suffered multiple injuries, particularly to different parts of the foot that have derailed his career on more than one occasion.
But the Delhi cricketer battled his way through those injuries and in January 2016, was picked in the T20I squad for the tour to Australia. For those who followed the IPL and his exploits over there, would not have been surprised, but for others, his inclusion might have seemed like a backward step.
He managed to play consistently for 4 months and then got injured again, ruling him out for the rest of the year. He returned to the fold again this year in the series against England where he put up a commendable performance.
