5 unlucky cricketers to never play for India

In India, cricket is a sport like no other as it is played in almost every nook and corner of the country. Millions of kids aspire to play for the national team and go through a rigorous process of age-group cricket at different levels.

Many of these players get filtered out due to fierce competition or other reasons. But those who perform in premier domestic competitions like the Ranji Trophy may get a call-up to India A and finally a chance to play international cricket.

However, there have been some cricketers who, despite being absolute legends in domestic cricket, did not get to play even a single game for India. Let's take a look at five such players:

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#5 Dheeraj Jadhav

When it comes to Maharashtra cricket, Dheeraj Jadhav is right up there among the greats the state has produced. Making his debut for Maharashtra in 1999, Jadhav was initially a middle-order batter.

However, he took to opening the batting later on and gradually became a prolific run-scorer at the top of the order. Around the time of his rise, India had begun opening with Virender Sehwag and were keen to find a suitable opening partner for the explosive batter.

Aakash Chopra did a decent job for a while but no one was as consistent as Jadhav in domestic cricket. He had his breakthrough season in 2003-04 where he amassed a staggering 1066 runs in 12 innings. This led to him receiving his maiden call-up for the home Test series against Australia.

However, a young Gautam Gambhir made his Test debut in that series and no one really looked back at Jadhav. Without even getting an opportunity, the Maharashtra stalwart faded from the selectors' radar.

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#4 Sridharan Sharath

Sridharan Sharath holds the record for being the only player from Tamil Nadu till date to play more than a hundred Ranji Trophy matches. Having made his debut in 1992, Sharath was a prolific run-scorer for the southern state. In 139 first class games, he scored 8700 runs at a sensational average of 51.17.

Unfortunately for him, his peak coincided with that of legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Sehwag. He did play for India A but never made an appearance for the national team despite being a domestic stalwart.

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#3 Mithun Manhas

Delhi has produced some incredibly talented players for India like Gambhir, Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. However, one might argue that Mithun Manhas was probably one of the most consistent batters to ever play for the state across formats.

Manhas was a formidable and dependable middle-order batter for Delhi from 1998. He was also instrumental in them ending their long wait for a Ranji Trophy title in the 2007-08 season. However, like many talented players, he too can be considered unlucky to be born in an era when the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, and so on were at their best.

Manhas also featured in a few games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for teams like Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors India and Chennai Super Kings. After hanging up his boots in 2017, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as an assistant coach in 2019.

Manhas was most recently part of the victorious Gujarat Titans team management in IPL 2022.

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#2 Rajinder Goel

Arguably the best spinner ever from Indian domestic cricket to never play for his country, Rajinder Goel was one of the standout players of his generation. Even a legend like Sunil Gavaskar once accepted that facing Goel was incredibly difficult.

In 157 first-class games, Goel picked up a ridiculous 750 wickets, including a mind-boggling 59 five-wickets hauls. Unfortunately for him, his peak came during the time when the national team already had a world-class spin quartet led by the great Bishan Singh Bedi.

It always seemed to come down to who, between Bedi and Goel, was the better left-arm spinner, and the former often got the nod for India. Had Goel been playing cricket in any other era or for another nation, there is little doubt that he would have been a successful international cricketer.

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#1 Amol Muzumdar

Perhaps the most unlucky cricketer to ever miss out on playing for the Men in Blue was Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar. The current head coach of Mumbai, Muzumdar was a prolific run-scorer for a world-class state team that had produced greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.

Muzumdar played 171 first-class games and scored a staggering 11,167 runs at a fantastic average of 48.13. But with Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman in the form of their lives, Muzumdar never got the India cap he probably deserved.

One can only imagine what Muzumdar, an all-time Ranji Trophy great, might have achieved had he been given a chance to turn out for the national team in his prime.