5 Test Legends who had a less successful career in ODI Cricket

Following his stunning knocks of 149 and 51 in the opening Test match against England, Indian Skipper Virat Kohli climbed to the top of Test Ranking for Batsman by upstaging banned Australian batsman Steve Smith. Already the top-rated Batsman in ODI Cricket, he became the first batsman since AB de Villiers in 2012 to occupy the top spot on both ODI and Test Rankings simultaneously.

It is a huge achievement for Kohli as he joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting by accomplishing this feat, and with this, he has solidified his stance as the greatest batsman of this generation. It is not an easy task for a player to expertise in both formats of the game and only a few special manage to do this in their cricketing career.

Since Test Cricket is still considered the Numero Uno form of the game, there have been a large number of cricketers in the past, and present, who put all their focus on Test cricket, and emerged as legends of that form, but, at the same time, struggled to solidify their place in the shorter format.

Here are 5 such players who, despite being legends of Test Cricket, had a rather less successful career in ODI cricket.

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Thilan Samaraweera

(Sri Lanka)

Samaraweera was part of the impeccable Sri Lankan middle order.

Thilan Samaraweera is probably the most underrated Sri Lankan batsman in the history of cricket. He is so underrated that, despite being a regular member of the Sri Lankan team for more than a decade, he is rather unknown to a majority of the cricket fans.

Part of the famed Sri Lankan batting order that composed the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Samaraweera was a rock solid batsman in Test Cricket. In fact, his records and figures in Test Cricket are among the best for Sri Lankan batsmen. 5,462 runs in 81 Test matches at an average of 48.76 - These are the figures of the flamboyant batsman from Columbo.

However, his ODI never kicked off despite him playing his first and last match 13 years apart. Despite him playing 81 Test matches, Samaraweera only got a chance to play 53 ODI matches for Sri Lanka. Never a good player of the white ball, he only managed to score 862 runs at a meager average of 27.6, more than 20 points below his Test average. He sure was a legend in Test Cricket, but was not even a shadow of himself in ODI cricket.

Micheal Atherton (England)

Atherton captained England in 54 Test matches.

Michael Atherton is one of the most naturally gifted cricketers in the history of English Cricket. As the perfect heir to Graham Gooch at the top of the order, Atherton was the poster boy of the English Cricket in the second half of the 90s who became synonymous with his fantastic batting as well as leadership skills.

Captaining England in a then-record 54 Test matches between 1994 and 1999, Atherton's Test career lasted for 13 years before he was forced to retire due to back injuries in 2013. In that period, however, he accumulated 7,728 runs in the 115 matches that he played and emerged as one of the most formidable batsmen in the whole world. He, however, was marred with the same disease as most other English batsmen - Failure in the shorter format.

Despite playing over 100 Test matches in his career, Atherton was never a permanent member of the ODI team and hence only played 54 ODI matches for the English team, out of which he played as a captain in 43 of them. A record of 1,791 runs at an average of 35 wasn't enough to warrant him a place in the team as he was dropped from the ODI team in 1998, 3 years before his retirement.

Justin Langer (Australia)

Langer formed a formidable opening partnership with Hayden.

Between the leadership of Allan Border and the captaincy of Ricky Ponting, Australian Cricket Team became the strongest team in the history of International Cricket. Part of that majestic team was a man who was one of the best Test openers of all time and was an integral member of every captain's squad - Justin Langer.

First appearing for the Australian Test team in 1993, Langer played as a middle-order batsman for 8 years before making a majestic transformation as an opening batsman in the subsequent years of his career. Forming a rock solid partnership with Matthew Hayden, Langer played 105 Test matches and scored a mammoth total of 7,696 runs at an average of 45.27, with a top score of 250 and 22 other 100+ scores.

However, even a stunning record like that and a brilliant stroke play couldn't assure him a place in his country's ODI squad throughout his career. It is astonishing that a man with such magical figures in Test cricket on featured in 8 ODI matches for the team, with his last ODI appearance coming 10 years before his retirement. A rather low average of 32.00 and tough competition from other talented players meant Langer spent the rest of his career only playing against the white ball.

Alastair Cook (England)

The only active player on this list.

The second English batsman, and captain, to make the cut in this list, Alastair Cook is probably one of the finest batsman ever produced by England. Having been an integral part of the team since his debut back in 2006, Cook has emerged as a match winner for England and now stands as the highest run scorer for the team in the longest format of the game.

Being the first Englishman to cross the illustrious 10,000 test runs mark, Cook has been part of England's Test Playing XI 157 times and has compiled a mammoth total of 12,158 runs at an average of 45.36. Scoring 32 international hundreds, which includes a best score of 294 runs, and taking 163 Test catches in the last 12 years, Cook became the backbone of the English Team in the post-2005 Ashes win era.

Well, only in Test Cricket. Despite being the most prolific English run scorer in Test cricket history, Cook failed to reach the same heights in ODI cricket. Despite being a good ODI skipper, Cook's average performances with the bat, coupled with the emergence of other openers, led to his exile from the team in 2014 before the Cricket World Cup. In all, he only featured in 92 ODIs, scoring 3,204 runs at an average of 36.04.

V.V.S. Laxman (India)

The Very Very Special Legend of Indian Cricket.

Coming in to bat at No. 5 or No. 6 for most of his international career, VVS Laxman became a legend of Indian cricket with his impeccable performance throughout his career. It is not easy for a player to keep the scoreboard ticking with the tail-enders, but India's Very Very Special Legend made a career for himself by scoring runs in the toughest of situations.

Part of the Famed Indian Fab-Four, Laxman represented India in 134 Test matches over the course of 16 years and scored 8,781 runs at a stunning average of 46. His Highest Score of 281*, played against Australia in 2001, is often regarded among the best knocks of cricketing history and it initiated a new era of cricket in India.

Considered an unsung hero of Indian Test Cricket, Laxman, however, had very less success in the shorter format of the game. While he was at his prime, and regularly played for India, at the start of 21st century, his form soon dwindled and he was dropped from the team in 2005, playing his final ODI in 2006.

Laxman is one of the few players, along with Justin Langer, who, despite playing over 100 Test matches for their team, never made it the World Cup squad in their career. In his 86 match ODI career, he scored 2,338 runs at a meager average of 30.76.