5 unlucky Indian cricketers who have been part of second-string sides but rarely make it to limited over team otherwise

Dhawal Kulkarni

Widely considered to be one of the finest bowlers in the Indian domestic circuit, Dhawal Kulkarni has not been able to establish himself in the Indian team so far. This is particularly strange at a time when India have struggled to find a remarkable fast bowling talent who has been consistent enough for some time now.

It was his mind-blowing spell of 5 for 42 in the first innings that played a leading role in Mumbai winning the Ranji Trophy title this year. His 9 for 56 in Ranji Trophy 2013 was also a similar match-winning effort. But strangely he has not been given enough chances to prove himself.

Ever since his India debut in 2014, Kulkarni has played just 8 ODIs and taken 13 wickets. Only in his third match against Sri Lanka in 2014, he picked up a career-best 4 for 34. That was followed by 3 for 57 against the same opposition in the very next match. But he was not picked again till the unimportant tours to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe the next year.

He has had a great IPL 2016 for the Gujarat Lions where he finished as the fourth highest wicket-taker with 18 scalps to his credit. His inclusion in the squad for the Zimbabwe tour is justified but one hopes that the selectors will give him the long rope now. A bowler as talented as he is should not only feature in second-string squads for unimportant tours.