5 Indian greats who did not get a farewell Test

Alastair Cook received a grand farewell from the cricketing world, a farewell which a player of his stature deserved and earned. After all, he is the finest opening batsman that England has ever produced.

Sachin Tendulkar is another player who comes to mind when talking about a grand departure from Test cricket. He walked into the sunset at his home ground in Mumbai, in front of thousands of his fans.

Not all great players are that fortunate to receive such a send-off. There have been a few instances in the history of Indian Test cricket where a batsman or bowler never got an opportunity to bid adieu to Test cricket in front of his fans.

Let's take a look at some of those players:

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#1 Rahul Dravid

One of the most respected cricketers of all time, Dravid was one of the best batsmen of his era. His test record is phenomenal. Dravid played his last Test, against Australia in Jan 2012 at Adelaide, while he announced his retirement a few months later, in March 2012.

He had an ordinary tour of Australia which prompted him to hang up his boots. The current Indian U-19 coach thought it was the right time to bid goodbye to the game and give youngsters an opportunity.

Perhaps a player of Dravid's stature deserved a better farewell, but knowing Dravid, he probably wanted to retire the way he did as he was never a man who liked basking in glory. He was a man of ethics and hard work, who did his job and moved on.

#2 VVS Laxman

VVS playing a pull shot

An artist with the bat, Laxman played several match-winning knocks for India. He was an expert of batting with the tail and while batting with the tail he took India across the finishing line many times. Such was the talent of Laxman that even after many years of his retirement the Indian team is still struggling to find a suitable replacement for him at the number 6.

Laxman's last Test match was the same as Dravid's, against Australia at Adelaide in Jan 2012.

He announced his retirement a few months later. It is a sad part of Indian test cricket's history that two of its most deserving batsmen never got a farewell match.

#3 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

Sehwag took many great fast bowlers to the cleaners on his day. He scored 8586 Test runs at a strike rate of 82, a strike rate which many batsmen find difficult to achieve even in one day cricket.

The Delhi batsman won many matches for India with his quick hundreds which gave ample time to bowlers to bowl out the opposition.

Sehwag played his last Test against Australia in March 2013, at Hyderabad, while he announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on his birthday, 20th October, 2015.

#4 Zaheer Khan

Zaheer celebrating a wicket

Arguably the most skilled Indian fast bowler of all time, Zaheer Khan was lethal in his prime. He had everything in his repertoire- a fearsome yorker, a clever leg cutter, a lethal inswinger which caught many right-handers in front of the wicket.

Zaheer bowled at a fair click during his prime. He troubled some of the best batsmen in the world which Graeme Smith can vouch for. Such a great player definitely deserved a swansong for himself.

He played his last Test against New Zealand in Feb 2014 at Wellington, while he announced his retirement from Test cricket on 15th October 2015.

#5 Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin

An artist with the bat, Azharuddin was one of the destructive batsmen when he was in his element. He created mayhem with elegance.

Due to the match-fixing saga, he was banned, which led to an abrupt end to his international career, and played 99 Tests for India.

He played his last Test against South Africa in March 2000 at Bengaluru.