8 cricketers who couldn't make it big at the international level

The sport of cricket has seen many great players, who have flourished and conquered the cricketing world with their excellent skills of batting, bowling and fielding, but there are few players who despite being equally talented as many, couldn't make it big and have struggled to mark their name at the International Level.

Let's take a look at the top 8 players who appeared to be the 'next big thing' at the time of their debut, but could not do justice to their selection and faded away.

Jesse Ryder ( New Zealand )

Jesse Ryder made his debut on 5th February 2008 against England

After the retirement of New Zealand's great opening batsman Stephen Fleming, the team was looking for a left-handed attacking batsman who could bat at the top and provide good solid starts as the former captain.

Jesse Ryder made his international debut on 5th February 2008 against England in a T20 International game. He played as an opener for New Zealand in all three formats of the game and was successful in providing attacking starts to the team along with Brendon McCullum.

He was dropped from the team on multiple occasions on disciplinary grounds and after which it became difficult for him to get back into the team.

#2 Cameron White (Australia)

Despite possessing all the arrows in his armoury White could not make it big at the international level.

The Australian Team of the 2000s was a very strong team and even the extras in the team would perform exceptionally well when provided an opportunity. Cameron White being one of them, who despite possessing all the arrows in his armoury could not make it big at the international level.

White made his debut on 5th October 2005 and went onto play 91 ODIs and 4 tests for Australia. That stats appear too small when compared to his talent and skills. After the retirement of Damien Martyn, Australian team was in search of a player who could fill in his shoes and White was successfull in doing that on few occassions by playing some match winning innings.

He went on to become Captain of the Australian team for the T20 format after the Retirement of Michael Clarke in 2010.However, he was later removed as captain from the Australian T20 Team due to his poor form. He was succeeded by George Bailey. He played for the Deccan Chargers Hyderabad in the IPL and had also captained the team.

3) Justin Kemp ( South Africa )

He joined the Indian Premier League and played for Chennai Super Kings under MS Dhoni.

South Africa has always provided cricketers of the highest class like Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith etc. Justin Kemp emerged as one player who could have been the second-best allrounder in the team after Jacques Kallis.

Kemp made his debut on 20th January 2001 in a test match against Sri Lanka but has been in and out of the team on many occasions. In 2008 he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League, which was not recognized by any cricket board or the ICC, thereby ending his career with South Africa.

In the ICL he played for Hyderabad Heroes Team. Later, he joined the Indian Premier League and played for Chennai Super Kings under MS Dhoni.

4) Dwayne Smith (West Indies)

He played only 10 Test matches and 105 ODIs for West Indies.

Smith was an attacking batsman, and played both as an opener and also as a middle order batsman for the West Indies. He made his international debut against South Africa in a Test match on 2nd January 2004. He played an important role in many West Indian wins and also had contributed with his right arm medium pace bowling.

With such talent, he played only 10 Test matches and 105 ODIs for West Indies.

He got his due as a hard-hitting batsman under MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He last played for Gujarat Lions in the tournament.

5) Luke Wright ( England )

Wright had the capability and temperament to be the next Flintoff of the England Team

England Cricket Team had an excellent all-rounder in the form of Andrew Flintoff, and after his retirement, that void was filled for a limited period of time by Luke Wright. Wright made his international debut on 5th Septemeber 2007 against India. He only played 50 ODIs and 51 T20s for England and was in and out of the team due to injuries and lack of form.

He had the capability and temperament to be the next Flintoff of the England Team, but could not give performances on a regular basis. He was a decent bowler too, who with time could have only improved.

6) Thilina Kandamby( Sri Lanka )

Kandamby was an attacking batsman and could hit boundaries at will

After the promotion of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan to the top, Sri Lanka's middle and lower order always lacked a hard-hitting batsman who could take forward the starts provided by the opening batsmen and the middle order players like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

Thilina Kandamby was one such player. He was an attacking batsman and could hit boundaries at will. But he was always in and out of the team due to fitness issues. He was also named as stand-in captain for one-off Twenty20 International against England in 2011, which was recorded as the farewell match of Srilanka Legend Sanath Jayasuriya.

7) Taufeeq Umar (Pakistan)

Taufeeq Umar last played for Pakistan in a Test Match against NewZealand in 2014

Everyone is aware of the talented players that Pakistan team produces every generation. Taufeeq Umar, a left-handed attacking batsman, is a product of that. Umar made his international debut against Bangladesh on 29th August 2001 and went on to play 43 Tests and 22 ODIS for Pakistan.

Despite playing more than 40 Test matches for Pakistan, with a batting average of 38, he never cemented his place in the team and was in and out on multiple occasions. He also played as a wicketkeeper on many occasions for Pakistan to accommodate one extra Batsman. He last played for Pakistan in a Test Match against New Zealand in 2014 and never appeared after that.

8) Yusuf Pathan (India)

Yusuf Pathan burst on to the scene against Pakistan in the Final of Inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007

In Indian Cricket, it is very rare to find a batsman who could hit big shots from ball one. Yusuf Pathan burst on to the scene against Pakistan in the final of the Inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007. He hit a six in the first over of the match against Mohammed Asif and proved his strength.

He later got success in the first edition of the IPL in 2008 under Shane Warne, who utilized his potential completely and gave Indian Cricket a match winner in the form of Pathan. Soon after his heroics in the IPL he was selected in the Indian Team and was asked to bat in the middle order in his first few matches.

Pathan never really performed in the way which was expected by him. He mostly batted in the lower order and used to come in to bat when there were only few deliveries to play. He was included in the 2011 Cricket World Cup after his match-winning performance against NewZealand in Bangalore and a great South African Tour, where, in the 3 matches he had scores of 59, 2 and 105.

In the World Cup, he did not score even a single 50, as most of the batting was done by the top order, but he was not able to even capitalise on the chances he got.

He was a regular in the Team from 2008 to 2011. But Post the World Cup he was in and out of the Indian team and lost his place due to his lack of form and performances. He last played for India on 18th March 2012.