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

Ambati Rayudu

In the early part of his career, Ambati Rayudu was hailed as the next Sachin Tendulkar in Indian cricketing circles. Though he went on to score heavily, a series of disputes and his joining the rebel Indian Cricket League saw him briefly disappear into oblivion.

Though he has been back on the radar since late 2012, he continues to remain ignored for the first team despite having put in some remarkable performances. His is the classic case of being unlucky enough to present at the wrong time when the Indian middle order has boasted of some great names thus intensifying the competition.

Thus, in spite of the good performances, Rayudu gets called in to perform only for second string sides or in unimportant matches. He made his debut against Zimbabwe in 2013 after having been named as the replacement player in tours to England and the West Indies. He had failed to get a game on either of these tours.

Despite scoring an impressive 63 on debut, he mostly remained the reserve batsman in the squad against Australia, West Indies and South Africa that year. He played in the ODI tour to Bangladesh in 2014 and the ODI series against West Indies.

Since then, he has had a few chances of and on, having been selected once again predictably for a second string side for the ongoing Zimbabwe tour.