Barring a few roadblocks, India have performed well in ICC events over the years with a lot of players emerging on the scene in these major tournaments. Along with the 50 over and the 20 over World Cup, there is Champions Trophy which is fought between the top eight teams in the world and is also known as the mini World Cup.
Playing the World Cup for one's country is the ultimate aim of a cricketer but representing the country in Champions Trophy is also no mean feat. The world has seen many formidable teams from India competing in both these tournaments but there are some individuals who have not had the luck to play in both these elite tournament.
Here is a list of the 5 Indian players who have represented the Blues in the World Cup but not in the Champions Trophy in their respective careers.
#5 Mohit Sharma
The Haryana-born pacer emerged on the scene five years ago and made a name for himself in his first ever IPL. He took 15 wickets in his first T20 competition and in 2013, he made his India debut.
Sharma returned with figures of 26/2 in his first one-day game against Zimbabwe and soon became a regular. The last Champions Trophy (2013, England) came a little early for him, however, he was selected in the squad for the 2015 World Cup.
Sharma sizzled in the first game of the World Cup where he took 35/2 against Pakistan. He again took two important wickets of Amla and Du Plessis in the match against Proteas and finished with 31/2.
The pacer took nine more wickets in the remaining games with his best spell coming against Zimbabwe where he took 3 wickets for 48 runs.
After the World Cup, Sharma struggled with inconsistency which saw him being dropped out of the team and eventually, after a disastrous IPL 2017, he was not selected for the CT 2017.
#4 Robin Uthappa
The Karnataka hitman emerged on the scene in 2006 after he made a successful debut against England. He was then selected in the 2007 ODI World Cup squad which proved to be disastrous for his career in the national team. Uthappa fluffed badly in the Windies and managed just 30 runs in the competition with India crashing out at the group stage.
Uthappa has knocked on the doors of the selectors since years as his IPL career has been nothing short of brilliant. He has been in and out of the Indian team for years but hasn't had a look in for the past two seasons.
Hence, it is obvious that a player who couldn't get a proper run with the Indian team was not selected in the last three Champions Trophy campaigns.
#3 Mohammed Shami
Shami was, and still is, one of India's premier fast bowlers. He was India's spearhead in the 2015 World Cup where he picked 17 wickets for India. The DD-bowler averaged 17.29 in that tournament while picking up scalps at an economy of just 4.81.
Shami was named man of the match in two of India's games in that tournament - against Pakistan (35/4) and West Indies (35/3).
But he has struggled with injuries since then. A surgery on his knee after the World Cup and his absence since the England series in 2016 made him a huge doubt for the current Champions Trophy. But the fighter that he is, Shami returned in the IPL and was selected in the first team squad.
He was not a guaranteed starter for India in this event as the trio of Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah had done exceedingly well to keep Shami out of contention for a start.
#2 Piyush Chawla
The leg spinner's Indian career has been a curious one as he has been in and out of the team for the past decade. He played his first game in 2007 and played regularly for India until 2010.
Chawla's bad form saw him miss a few series but was then selected in the 2011 World Cup. The leggie played just one match against England in Banglaore, which ended in a tie.
Since 2012, when he played his last test, he has often been overlooked despite his good track record in the IPL and for Uttar Pradesh. Chawla was not selected in the 2013 Champions Trophy despite calls from many pundits to include him.
#1 Ajinkya Rahane
Despite being the vice captain of this current Indian team, Rahane has not got a chance to prove himself in the Champions Trophy. This is because of his struggles in the shorter formats of the game. His faulty shot selection and inconsistent average in the one days and T20s has led to him being relegated to the bench.
Rahane didn't have a good IPL and also could not get going in the warm-up games. With the return of Rohit Sharma, Rahane's chances were further diminished.
He was not in the squad in 2013 as he was new to the one day circuit back then and hadn't cemented a place for himself in all the formats. In the 2015 World Cup, a lot was expected from Rahane but he managed just 204 runs at an average of 34.6.
It is evident that India's dependable test batsman needs work on his limited-over game. But with this being the last proposed Champions Trophy, Rahane might not get to play in this tournament.
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