5 current Indian cricketers who are yet to make their Test debut

So far, 294 players have had the privilege of representing the Indian Cricket team in the Test matches of which 33 have gone on to lead the nation. Sachin is the most capped Indian Test cricketer and MS Dhoni has captained India in more number of Tests- 60 of which the Indians won 23, lost 18 and drawn 15.

While some players like Sachin Tendulkar and recently young prodigy, Prithvi Shaw (no comparisons please) announced their arrival at the International stage through Test matches, some could not. Let us now look at five extremely talented Indian cricketers who are yet to play or have never played Test cricket. But it won't be easy for them to get into the side for sure!

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Manish Pandey

Though the Karnataka batsman made his First-class debut against Railways in November 2008, he rose to prominence after his exploits in the 2009 IPL where he became the first ever Indian to score an IPL century. Pandey has so far scored 5854 runs 84 First-class matches, with his highest score being 238. A consistent performer with the bat in the domestic circuit, the Nainital-born batsman has amassed 4346 runs in 136 List A matches at an average of 42.60. He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in July 2015 at Harare and just three days after his ODI debut, he made his T20I debut against the same opposition at the same venue.

A highly talented batsman, Pandey has been in and out of the Indian Cricket team since making debut three years ago and has so far represented the Men in Blue in 23 ODIs and 27 T20Is, scoring 440 and 534 runs respectively. His best ever performance in the Indian jersey came against the Aussies in January 2016 at Sydney, where he scored 104* (81 balls) and guided India to a comprehensive victory while chasing 331 runs in the final match of the ODI series (Australia won 4-1). Though he got the opportunities to prove himself in the Blue jersey, he is yet to get one in the Whites and it is really surprising that a player of such calibre is yet to play a five-day game for his nation.

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu made his First-class debut way back in the 2001-02 Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad as a 16-year-old. Since then, he has represented three other teams in the domestic circuit- Andhra, Vidarbha and Baroda scoring 6151 runs in 97 First-class matches. Rayudu left Hyderabad to Andhra in 2005, only to make a comeback to the side a year later. The Guntur-born batsman represented Hyderabad for the next four seasons, before moving to Baroda in the year 2010. After his six-year stint with Baroda, he joined Vidarbha for the 2016-17 season before moving to his boyhood side, Hyderabad after that season.

A vastly experienced cricketer, the 33-year-old has 4856 runs in 150 List A games under his belt at an average of 41.50. Rayudu made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in July 2013 and has so far represented the Men in Blue 45 ODIs, scoring 1447 runs at an average of 51.76. Recently, he made his comeback into the Indian ODI side (Asia Cup, 2018) and has almost cemented his place as the number four batsman for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. The man who has also played six T20Is (has 42 runs in six matches), recently announced his retirement from the First-class cricket (longer formats of the game).

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav

Jadhav, who made his First-class debut for Maharashtra back in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy has so far scored 4945 runs at an average of 46.21. His triple ton (327) in a 2012 Ranji Trophy fixture against Uttar Pradesh at Pune, is the second-highest score by a Maharashtra batsman in the domestic circuit. In 139 List A matches, Jadhav has amassed 4377 runs at an average of 47.57, with his highest score being 141.

He made his ODI debut for Team India against Sri Lanka in November 2014 at Ranchi and has so far made 48 ODI appearances for the Men in Blue scoring 884 runs that include two centuries and three half-centuries. His T20I debut came against Zimbabwe in July 2015 at Harare and has so far played just 9 matches in the shortest format of the game scoring 122 runs.

A batting all-rounder, Jadhav is a useful off-spinner and has proved it time and again for Team India (has 22 ODI wickets to his name) in the ODIs. The 33-year-old though is yet to prove his mettle in the whites and with the age, not on his side he is unlikely to face the cherry for Team India.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal made his First-class debut for Haryana against Madhya Pradesh in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy and has so far taken 74 wickets (also scored 299 runs) in 29 matches, with his best figures being 6/44. With 99 wickets and 184 runs in 73 matches, his List A stats are also quite good.

Chahal's ODI debut came in June 2016 against Zimbabwe and has so far represented the Men In Blue in 34 ODIs. He has indeed thrived under Virat Kohli, who took over the reins (limited-overs) from MS Dhoni in January 2017 and recently became the fifth fastest Indian to 50 ODI wickets (in his 30th ODI) during the 2018 Asia Cup fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan.

The Haryana leggie, along with chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, is regarded as one of the successful spin-duo in the past two-three years. Though Chahal has been a regular fixture in the Indian limited-overs squad, he is yet to make his Test debut for the Indian Cricket team.

Axar Patel

Axar Patel

Axar, who made his List A debut in February 2012 and his First-class debut against Madhya Pradesh in November later that year had a stellar 2012-13 season which enabled him to bag the BCCI Under-19 Cricketer of the year award. Another impressive performance in the following Ranji Trophy season for Gujarat, saw him finish with 369 runs and 29 wickets. His 17-wicket performance at the 2014 IPL was one of the primary reasons for Kings XI Punjab's runner-up finish in season seven and was named the Emerging Player of his exploits with the ball.

After these impressive performances, a place in the Indian team came calling and Axar made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in June 2014. Later, he was named in India's 15 man squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup (Australia and New Zealand) but unfortunately, he did not play a single game throughout that tournament. A useful all-rounder, Axar has 181 runs and 45 wickets to his name in 38 ODIs. In the 11 T20Is he has played for India, Axar has scored 68 runs while picking up nine wickets. The 24-year-old bowling all-rounder who has 2593 runs and 232 wickets to his name in the domestic circuit(First class and List A combined), is yet to play a Test match for Team India.