India has given the game of cricket some of its finest performers over the years. Be it Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid, all of them have broken barriers and taken the sport to a whole new level. Apart from these big names, there are also other players who performed consistently enough for the national team.
However, the country's cricket has not always been about players achieving success. There are multiple cases of players who failed to make a long-lasting impact in the international arena. While some of them just could not adapt to the bigger stage, there are a few who did well for a brief period and have some wonderful statistics to show.
Here are 5 Indian cricketers who were largely unsuccessful but have great statistics:
5. Madhav Apte
Test Batting Avg. - 49.27
A right-handed batsman by trade, Madhav Apte was quick to be drafted into the Indian Test team after just one season of first-class cricket. Although he could not do much of note in his debut series against Pakistan, Apte was picked for India's 5-Test tour to the West Indies.
He repaid the faith shown in him by scoring back-to-back half-centuries in the first Test and following it up with another one in the next match. The third Test of the series saw Madhav Apte crack an unbeaten 163 at Port of Spain, a career best for him.
Apte ended up with a tally of 460 runs and emerged as the third highest run-scorer in the series below Everton Weekes and Polly Umrigar. However, in a shocking turn of events, he was dropped from the Indian team never to be picked again.
In 7 Tests during his international career, Madhav Apte scored 542 runs at an average of a little under 50 with a century and three fifties.
4. Harvinder Singh
ODI Bowling Avg. - 25.37
Harvinder Singh was a talented medium pacer who made it to the Indian team in the year 1997. Although he played for India in both Tests and ODIs, Harvinder had a longer stint in the 50-over format and managed to perform quite decently.
He made his debut during the first edition of the Sahara 'Friendship' Cup played in Toronto between India and Pakistan. Singh emerged as the second highest wicket-taker in the series with 9 wickets, only behind Sourav Ganguly who took 15 wickets.
Post that, Harvinder Singh featured in 10 more ODIs as part of the Indian team before he was dropped in 2001. The Punjab pace bowler took 24 wickets in a 16-match one-day career and had an impressive average of just a little more than 25.
3. Jasubhai Patel
Test Bowling Avg. - 21.96
Gujarat-born off-spinner Jasubhai Patel played 7 Tests for India between the years 1955 and 1960. Patel never really had a consistent run in the Indian Test team and had just 4 Tests under his belt in the first 4 years as an international cricketer.
Jasubhai Patel's greatest moment came along in the year 1959 when he recorded a 14-wicket haul against the touring Australians at Kanpur. This included a phenomenal 9 for 69 in Australia's first innings, the then best figures by an Indian bowler in Tests.
The last Test of the series turned out to be Patel's final one, too, even though he did finish as India's highest wicket-taker with 19 scalps. The career statistics of Jasubhai Patel show that he has 29 wickets in 7 Tests at an average slightly below 22.
2. Vijay Bhardwaj
ODI Bowling Avg. - 19.18
Vijay Bharadwaj is an all-rounder who represented India in Tests and ODIs over a brief period of 3 years. The Karnataka cricketer made everyone stand up and take notice as he produced a great performance in his debut ODI series played in Kenya.
It was a triangular series involving the hosts and a formidable South African side where Bharadwaj won the Man of the Series award for his fine all-round showing. He scored 89 runs in 4 innings and also picked up 10 wickets during the tournament.
Post that, Vijay Bharadwaj played another 6 ODIs for India but failed make the same kind of impact. However, he did end up with some terrific statistics in his 50-over career with 16 wickets in 10 matches at an average of under 20.
1. Vinod Kambli
Test Batting Avg. - 54.20
Former Indian batsman Vinod Kambli has been one of the most colourful characters in the country's cricketing history. Kambli's career graph shot up at a very early stage of his career as he notched up back-to-back double centuries in his third and fourth Test respectively.
After his first 7 Tests, the southpaw's batting average was an incredible 113.28 and he was being looked at India's next batting hero. However, it is precisely at this time that Kambli's career hit a steep decline and he failed to score even a half-century in his last 10 innings.
By the time Vinod Kambli's Test career reached a dead end, his average had dropped drastically. The Mumbai cricketer, though, still managed to finish off with more than 1000 runs in 21 innings at a highly impressive average of 54.20.
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