3 unlucky Indian cricketers who were never re-considered for selection despite impressing in their early matches

Cricket is the most popular sport in India; it is often regarded as a religion in the country. But the game has evolved drastically over the years, which has also affected the selection criteria of the players.

The competition in the Indian domestic circuit is the toughest by far in the world. The country has a gigantic pool of talented domestic cricketers who are desperate to represent the country at the highest level. However, the pressure to perform against the best teams in the world is not easy to withstand; it requires immense potential and temperament to succeed at the biggest of stages.

There are numerous players who proved their prowess in the initial part of their career and went on to become superstars. But there have also been some unlucky players who, despite performing well in their initial international games, failed to impress the selectors enough and were never considered for selection again.

Here is a look at three such players:

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#3 Surinder Amarnath

Surinder Amarnath

Surinder Amarnath shot into prominence when he scored a brilliant century on debut against New Zealand in the year 1976. Amarnath, along with the 'Little Master' Sunil Gavaskar, crafted a much needed partnership of 204 runs for the second wicket, which helped India win the match by 8 wickets.

Amarnath's performance grabbed eye-balls from every corner of the world. The swashbuckling southpaw made a decent start to his ODI career too, scoring a quick 37 against arch-rivals Pakistan in the year 1978, in their own backyard.

In the third match of his debut series, he scored a phenomenal 62 against a quality Pakistan bowling attack. Unfortunately though, this was to be the last match of Amarnath's ODI career, despite his tremendous performances throughout the series.

He played three ODIs for India scoring 100 runs, with a solitary half-century against his name.

#2 Faiz Fazal

Faiz Fazal

Faiz Fazal has been a prolific performer in the domestic circuit ever since his debut back in the year 2003. He has scored over 7,000 first-class runs at an impressive average of 41.

Faiz earned a spot in the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe tour of 2016 because of his spellbinding performances in domestic cricket that year.

He grabbed the golden opportunity with both hands, smashing an unbeaten 55 in his debut game against a relatively weak Zimbabwe bowling attack. The innings was a flawless display of class and textbook technique.

Unfortunately for him though, Faiz didn't impress the selectors enough. He continued his mastery in the domestic circuit, scoring tons of runs for Vidarbha, but hasn't played another match since.

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#1 Gagan Khoda

Gagan Khoda

Gagan Khoda came into the limelight when he scored a century on his first-class debut in the 1991-92 season of the Ranji Trophy. The Rajasthan-born opening batsman was merely 17 when he reached the milestone.

However, Khoda made it to the Indian ODI team only in the year 1998, during the Coca-Cola Cup. He scored a match-winning 89 against Kenya in his second match and was adjudged the Man of the Match for his splendid performance.

Surprisingly, the right handed opener was dropped from the team after that match and was never considered again for a spot in the Indian playing XI. Khoda scored 115 runs in the two ODIs he played for India, at an average of 57.50.

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