5 Indian cricketers who had a great start to their international career

Ganguly scored a century on his Test debutInternational cricket is a strange monster. Some started with greatness all over them and never went too far. Some looked mediocre but went on to become greats. Very few looked great, started great and ended great.Much of it is because of the rigors of competitive international cricket which is like the ocean that you can never gauge until you dive into it. Some learn and adapt while some perish. It doesn’t help that the modern game is getting more and more professional with a lot of resources dedicated purely to detect chinks in the armour of every player.Here, we take a look at five Indian cricketers who had an excellent start to their international career, either in Tests or ODIs. Players like Narender Hirwani and Sourav Ganguly miss out from the list because their purple patch right at the beginning wasn’t considerably long.Ganguly had three great Tests and then a reality check followed before he adapted and went on to become one of India’s greatest captains. Hirwani, on the other hand, was largely reduced to the sidelines after the initial success.

#1 Ajit Agarkar

He is the second fastest to 50 international ODI wickets reaching there in just 23 games (fastest in terms of time - 182 days), his record broken by Ajanta Mendis. Agarkar had a streak of 13 matches before going wicket-less for the first time in ODI cricket.

That start included two four-wicket hauls and four three-wicket hauls. He must’ve thought cricket is easy. The man with the golden arm had a whippy action that helped him generate pace and regularly gave breakthroughs ending as one of India’s most successful ODI bowlers.

Agarkar never really did justice to his talent, though, which shone through the Lord’s century (he holds the record for fastest ODI half-century by an Indian) and despite picking up close to 300 ODI wickets (288) doesn’t usually get the respect that India’s top bowlers usually get.

#2 Vinod Kambli

Kambli is the fifth fastest batsman ever in Test cricket to 1000 runs. Three of the four players to get there faster than him are Herbert Sutcliffe, Everton Weekes and Don Bradman.

Bradman took 13 innings where Kambli took 14. Such was the impact Kambli had. His first seven Tests had 2 centuries and 2 double centuries. Yet, Kambli didn’t score even 100 runs over 1000 and his tragic career ended despite multiple comebacks in ODI cricket.

Much of the failure was due to a lack of discipline. Kambli, once Tendulkaresque, is still counted as one of the biggest failures of natural talent and flamboyance in Indian cricketing circles.

#3 Mohammad Azharuddin

His first five ODI innings read 47*, 47, 10, 93 and 45. But know what is more impressive? He is the only batsman ever to score three successive Test centuries in his first three Tests.

Azhar, who scored 110 on debut against England when on to score 105 in the second innings of the second Tests and 122 in the third Test, adding 54* in the second innings. A bit of a lean patch followed after that, but Azhar always had the knack of scoring successive centuries.

One of the original ODI greats from India Azhar’s average doesn’t reflect the talent he possessed as a batsman, with malleable wrists that were supremely elegant, a style of play that is hard to mimic.

#4 Virender Sehwag

No one thought Sehwag could make it in Test cricket, given his technique or the lack of it. Yet, he became Indias second most prolific Test opener and at one point, the worlds most feared Test batsman, almost becoming the first man to score three Test triple centuries.

The most interesting aspect about Sehwag though is the fact that the start to his Test career was even better than that of Rahul Dravid. Sehwag, who scored 105 on debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein, went on to score two more centuries in his first ten Tests along with three consecutive half-centuries in the fourth, fifth and sixth Tests.

Dravid had just one century from his first 20 Tests and even Ganguly went quiet after his first two Test centuries. Sehwag also had a good start to his ODI career as a batsman and a part-time off-spinner.

Also fascinating is the fact that for a man with a unique style of batting, Sehwag went on with his happy ways for almost 50 Tests before experiencing a lean patch of sorts.

#5 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin was India’s fastest Test bowler to 50 wickets doing so in 9 matches. He is also the fastest Indian and the fifth fastest ever to 100 wickets doing so in just 18 games, way ahead of greats like Dale Steyn, Andy Roberts and Waqar Younis.

The spinner is also India’s fastest to 150 wickets doing so recently in the first Test against South Africa. Ashwin has had a lean patch, especially playing away but came back to roaring form after a tweak to his action and bowling strategies.

Ashwin, who scored a century in only his third Test picked up 22 wickets in his first three Tests. In 30 matches, he has gone wicket-less only thrice and has taken five or more wickets in a match in an impressive 17 games. He was also reasonably successful in the ODI format, picking at least one wicket in his first ten ODIs.