CWC 2019: 4 greatest ODI Players who never won a World Cup

The 2019 World Cup starts from 30th May in England and Wales. It is the fifth time that England will host a World Cup following 1975, 79, 83 & 99. The 2019 World Cup will see a change in pattern as it will be the first time that 10 teams will battle it out in a group stage format. The top four teams at the end of the group stage will progress to the semi-finals.

As the World Cup comes around every four years, superstars around the world look forward to proving their worth in the greatest contest in the world of cricket. Famous players in the past have performed to their abilities and have gone to win the World Cup.

Every World Cup creates a legend who gets the status of a superstar. Imran Khan in 1992, Ricky Ponting in 2003 and MS Dhoni in 2011 have all made it big by leading their team from the front and eventually winning it for their team. But that has not been the story for every superstar in the game. Let us take a look at the four greatest ODI players who have never managed to lift the holy grail.

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#4 Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

Kumar Sangakkara came close in 2007 & 2011

We start our list with legendary Sri Lankan wicketkeeper, Kumar Sangakkara. Sanga made his debut at the age of 22 in 2000. In an ODI career spanning over fifteen years, Sangakkara scored 14,234 runs in 404 One day internationals captaining the side in 105 of them.

Sangakkara was the vice-captain of the Sri Lankan team from 2006 to 2009 and eventually captained the side from 2009 to the 2011 World Cup.

Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka reached the second spot in ODI rankings and went onto the finals of 2011 World Cup. The Southpaw himself was in prolific form, scoring 465 runs in 9 matches and finishing as the third highest run scorer after Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sachin Tendulkar. Yet, Sanga becomes one of the grand cricketers who was so close yet fell so far of winning the World Cup.

#3 Rahul Dravid (India)

Dravid reached the finals with Team India in 2003

Nicknamed, The Wall, Rahul Dravid was known for his extensive defensive abilities and the ability to hold on an innings like a glue. Dravid debuted for India in 1996 and his debut Test series was an immediate success, scoring 95 and 80 in successive innings and finishing the series with an average of 62.33 after two Test matches.

The Karnataka batsman received widespread acclamation as he debuted in the 1999 World Cup scoring 461 runs from 8 games as he emerged as the highest run scorer of the tournament. Dravid was successful again in the 2003 tournament where India lost to Australia in the finals.

The former Indian captain scored 318 runs and affected 16 dismissals as wicketkeeper in the tournament. In 2007, India had an unsuccessful campaign in the Carribean as the team was knocked out in the group stages under the captaincy of Dravid.

Dravid finally retired from limited overs cricket in 2011 with 10,889 runs in the 50-over format. Soon after his retirement, the BCCI appointed him as the coach of U-19 and A-teams. Surely, the board would not get anyone better for a position which requires the right technique and training to budding cricketers with an eye to play for the national side.

#2 AB de Villers (South Africa)

AB shocked the world after announcing his retirement in 2018

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers has been one of the most sensational batsmen that gained fame from South Africa. De Villiers debuted in 2004 and quickly rose to fame before the 2007 World Cup. But the World Cup was not his tournament as ABD was inconsistent and failed to open his account on four occasions.

However, 2011 proved to be a blistering campaign for the South African batsman as he became the first South African and fifth international batsman after Mark Waugh, Saeed Anwar, Matthew Hayden and Rahul Dravid to score two consecutive centuries in the World Cup. He finished the tournament with an average of 136.73 which was the highest among any batsman in that tournament.

De Villers came back with the same form four years later in Australia and New Zealand. Mr. 360 was one of the top performers of the 2015 World Cup, amassing 482 runs at an average of 96 and a phenomenal strike rate of 144. It was this tournament that made him a 360-degree player and made the lap shot famous.

#4 Sourav Ganguly (India)

Dada captained the side beautifully in the 2003 World Cup

The God of offside goes down as one of the most iconic cricketers not to hold a World Cup trophy in his hands. Ganguly debuted in 1992 against the West Indies but his 131 and 136 against England in 1996 made him the third batsman after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kaalicharan to score two tons in his first two innings.

Coming to Cricket World Cups, Ganguly scored 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 tournament which still stands as the highest score by an Indian in a World Cup.

Dada led a young and vibrant Team India into the finals of the 2003 World Cup. While match-fixing scandals still loomed large in the air, Ganguly and his team went on to the finals only to come up short against the mighty Australians. Ganguly himself had a successful campaign, scoring 465 runs including three centuries.

Sourav Ganguly will always be known as a fearless captain who had the guts to challenge the coach and the board in doing whatever was right for the National Team. His feud with Greg Chapell and his comeback after being dropped from the squad will always be written in golden words in the history of Indian Cricket.