ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 players who played the tournament just once

The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 has begun after a lot of anticipation from fans across the globe. If there is any competition that enjoys as much popularity as the ICC World Cup, it is the Champions Trophy. The competition began way back in 1998 when it was called the ICC Knockout Trophy. The name was changed in 2002 and ever since, it is known as the Champions Trophy with the top 8 teams of the world taking on each other to lift the coveted title.

Although the best in the business lock horns against each other, there have been some prolific international cricketers who were never fortunate enough to play the tournament more than once despite being among the finest to have represented their respective teams. Here are 5 players who played the tournament just once.

#1 Hansie Cronje

The ICC Knockout Trophy was first held in 1998 and it was the first time all the Test playing countries were participating in a tournament apart from World Cup. Under the brilliant captaincy of Hansie Cronje, Proteas emerged as the champions of the first edition of the tournament, after which they haven’t been able to win any ICC trophy till date. South Africa played their first match against England and chased down 283 comfortably.

In the semi-final, Sri Lanka were outclassed by the Proteas, after which they defeated West Indies in the final. Throughout the tournament, Cronje led his team really well and scored 148 runs which included an unbeaten 61 in the final.

All his runs were scored at a strike rate of around 91 which was commendable. Cronje was an inspirational leader for the Proteas but played just one Champions Trophy.

#2 George Bailey

Bailey played in the 2013 Champions Trophy and performed well

George Bailey is best known for his calm demeanour on the field, and the shots he plays in the limited over cricket. The Australian hard-hitter has also captained the Aussie unit in T20I as well as the ODI matches.

He recorded successive fifties in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 - 55 vs England and 55 vs New Zealand - both at Birmingham in June. Along with Ricky Ponting, Bailey (two) is only the second Australian captain to have registered successive fifties in the ICC Champions Trophy.

He became world’s no.2 batsman in the ICC rankings after a successful 2013 in ODI cricket, but his heroics in the Champions Trophy remained limited to the 2013 edition.

#3 S Sreesanth

Sreesanth picked up two wickets against Australia in 2006 CT

S Sreesanth, who went on to play 53 ODIs for India, along with being a part of both the World Cup winning sides under MS Dhoni, 2007 and 2011, featured in only one Champions Trophy in the Blue of India.

While first he was not named in the 2006 CT squad, an injury to Ajit Agarkar meant he was roped in midway through the tournament, which was hosted by India. However, the Kerala-based speedster featured in only one of the matches, against Australia, picking up two wickets. The hosts eventually bowed out of the group stage.

#4 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay could not perform well in the warm-ups of Champions Trophy 2017

One of India’s most dependable openers in Test matches could not create much of an impact in limited overs cricket. Murali Vijay habitually caters to the needs of a Test match, exuding a sense of calm and patience at the crease.

His splendid form in Test matches earned him an ODI call-up for the Champions Trophy in 2013. But he couldn’t capitalise on his opportunity as he failed to score runs in the warm-ups.

He last featured in an ODI in 2015 against Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, Vijay had to cede his spot to other performers in this edition of the tournament and watch it from home on his television screen.

#5 Yusuf Pathan

Yusuf Pathan played in the 2009 India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy game

On the back of his T20 heroics, Yusuf Pathan won a Champions Trophy call-up in 2009. The hard-hitting batsman got to bat in only one match though – the one between India and Pakistan in which he scored only 5 runs from 10 balls.

Gradually after the tournament, Pathan went out of national reckoning and despite his swashbuckling performances in the IPL, he failed to cement his place in the national side. Pathan, who played his last ODI in 2012, against Pakistan, has featured in 57 ODIs, scoring 1365 runs.