5 Indian players who could have been the next Virender Sehwag

Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons. His bizarre comment on Virat Kohli after the latter danced to celebrate a wicket during the Birmingham Test against England did not go down well with fans. He was severely criticized on social media for the same.

During his playing days, though, the “Nawab of Najafagarh” often made news for the right reasons - his scintillating strokeplay. Sehwag was perhaps the first cricketer since Kris Srikkanth to bat in ultra-aggressive mode without the fear of losing his wicket. In a splendid career that lasted from 1999 to 2013, he scored 8000-plus in both Tests and ODIs and 394 runs in 19 T20Is.

Sehwag will always be best remembered for registering two triple hundreds in Test cricket. He was truly a once-in-a-generation player in red-ball cricket. Speaking of his performances in limited-overs matches, there were a few talented players who could have come close to replicating his success, but could not due to various reasons. We profile five such names.

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#5 Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey bats during a T20I against New Zealand in January 2020. Pic: Getty Images

Manish Pandey holds the record of being the first Indian to score a hundred in the IPL. He smashed an unbeaten 114 off 73 balls for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against a Deccan Chargers (DC) attack comprising Ryan Harris, RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha during the 2009 edition.

Pandey played some amazing knocks during the first few years of the IPL, making critics take notice of his talent. His finest moment came in the 2014 final, when he clobbered 94 off 50 as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) chased down 200 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

The swashbuckling right-handed batter has had his opportunities to represent India, but failed to grab them. He scored an ODI hundred against Australia in Sydney in 2016 and a 48-ball 79* in a T20I against South Africa in Centurion. But there is nothing much else to write home about his international career.

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#4 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan batting for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Pic: Getty Images

There was a brief phase in his international career when Yusuf Pathan was considered one of the most dangerous hitters in white-ball cricket. In an ODI in Bengaluru against New Zealand in December 2010, he clobbered an unbeaten 123 off 96 balls, smacking seven fours and as many sixes as India chased down 316 with ease.

A month later, in South Africa, he pummeled 105 in 70 balls in Centurion, clubbing eight fours and as many sixes. The knock came in a losing cause as India went down chasing a (D/L) target of 268 in 46 overs. However, both the hundreds were breathtaking and featured some Sehwag-style astonishing strokeplay.

Unfortunately, due to a loss in form and, at times, questionable team selection, he ended up playing only 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India.

Further proof of Yusuf’s big-hitting talent is the numbers he produced in the IPL when he was at his best. He holds the record for the fastest IPL ton by an Indian (37 balls) and the second-fastest in the tournament’s history.

Yusuf was a key member of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad that lifted the inaugural IPL. - he smashed 435 runs at a strike rate of 179.01.

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#3 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu bats during an ODI against Australia in Hyderabad in March 2019. Pic: Getty Images

It’s sad that Ambati Rayudu will forever be remembered for his “3D” tweet more than his cricket. A prodigious talent who was touted to achieve great things, Rayudu has only featured in 55 ODIs and six T20Is for India. He hasn’t played for international cricket since March 2019. He was surprisingly dropped for the World Cup that year and hasn’t been considered since.

Rayudu gave glimpses of his talent in one-day cricket when he hammered an unbeaten 121 against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad in 2014 and a man of the match-winning 90 against New Zealand in Wellington in 2019, just a few months before the World Cup.

He has been unlucky as he was at his peak when there was no place in the Indian middle order. It can, however, also be argued that he didn’t do spectacularly well to force the selectors to pick him.

Rayudu has been one of the star performers in the IPL with over 4000 runs in 188 matches. But here as well, his consistency has been a let down. On some days, he has been unstoppable and, at other times, unpredictable. This explains why he averages a middling average of 29.10 at a strike rate of 127.12.

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#2 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa during the Commonwealth Bank Series match between Australia and India at the SCG in February 2008. Pic: Getty Images

Before KL Rahul became the first Indian to smash a hundred on ODI debut in 2016, Robin Uthappa held the record for having registered the highest score by an Indian batter on one-day debut. He smashed a fluent 86 against England in Indore in 2006. The knock came in a pressure situation as the hosts were chasing a challenging 289 for victory.

After a couple of low scores, Uthappa gave yet another demonstration of his big-hitting talent, belting 70 off only 41 balls with the aid of 11 fours and two sixes in a one-dayer against West Indies. The batter, however, failed to build on his great start and faded away from the international scene as he was way too inconsistent with the bat.

His last one-day fifty came against Bangladesh at Mirpur in 2014. He last played an international match for India in 2015. Uthappa continued to flourish in the IPL.

He has scored 4952 runs in the T20 league at a strike rate of 130.35 and was also part of the Chennai franchise that lifted the trophy last year. Considering his talent, though, he has clearly underachieved in international cricket.

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#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik batting during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 match against West Indies at The Kia Oval. Pic: Getty Images

The Tamil Nadu batter recently made a comeback to international cricket, a remarkable achievement considering he is 37. Dinesh Karthik was in the form of his life in IPL 2022, pounding the bowlers en route to scoring 330 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at a strike rate of 183.33.

On his return to the Indian team, he picked up the Player of the Match award, scoring 55 off 27 in a do-or-die T20I against South Africa in Rajkot.

Karthik is the only player from India’s first T20I - that was played against the Proteas in Johannesburg in 2006 - who is still active in international cricket. However, this fact is slightly misleading as the keeper-batter has spent the better part of the last decade and a half out of the Indian team than in it.

It can be argued that his career coincided with that of MS Dhoni. At the same time, it is equally true that, considering his immense talent, he was given ample opportunities to prove himself.

However, barring his heroics in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy final and the impressive effort as a Test opener during the 2007 tour of England, Karthik’s international career has been a case of what could have been.

Having said that, he still has enough time on hand to sign off from international cricket on a high.

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