Most first-class appearances by Indians before national call-up

#4 Robin Singh - 108 matches

Robin Singh, despite being able to contribute across all departments, found it difficult to get a place in the Test side

Trinidad-born Robin Singh, who could do virtually everything for his side with a fair bit of respectability, was another Indian cricketer who found it difficult to squeeze into the national side in the longest format. Despite being good with bat, ball and in the field - he has even coached India Under-19, Hong Kong and being the senior India side's fielding coach - Robin had to remain contended with only one Test, which came after 108 first-class matches for Tamil Nadu.

In that Test against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1998, he got identical figures of 0/16 in both innings and scored 15 and 12 in a losing cause, thus becoming a victim of a shock defeat despite India taking a first innings lead. Robin never returned to play Test cricket, though continuing to play at the domestic level. His first-class career included a total of 138 matches, averaging 46 and 35 with the bat and ball, respectively.