10 Ranji performers who were ignored by the selectors

When the talent was ignoredFor a country that’s obsessed about cricket, the common dream of playing for the national team is cherished by all those who carry their kit regularly to the practice grounds. Yet it is only a handful of boys with supreme talent and quite a bit of luck that get to live the dream.For most, a place in the coveted XI remains elusive while the few who do get to don the Blue Cap a couple of times are often unceremoniously forgotten.India’s premier domestic league, the Ranji Trophy was once supposed to be the filter that separated international material from the common run-of-the-mill product. It was meant to harness the talent and shape the player into Valyrian steel.It is therefore immensely surprising to find cricketers ignored by national selectors in spite of consistently performing in the Ranji Trophy.Now, it can be argued that superior contemporaries in the Indian team often lead to no vacancy, which has been the case for Amol Muzumdar, Rashmi Parida and Shitanshu Kotak who were all born in the era of the Fab Four and never received a call-up in spite of their authority in the domestic circuit.However, there continue to be players who definitely used to be better than their contemporaries, but never received their deserving run in the national team, courtesy poor publicity and ignorance by the selectors.Here, the author takes a look at 10 such names.

#1 Wasim Jaffer

That Wasim Jaffer was, and is, a hard-working fellow was evident when Rahul Dravid expressed his liking for the man. And if that isn’t enough, the statistics do make a convincing case for him. Barely a week ago, he emerged as the first Ranji cricketer to complete 10,000 runs in the tournament alone.

With imposing figures and consistent run-making abilities, Jaffer is a familiar name in the domestic circuit. During his brief stint in India colors, Jaffer smacked a double ton in the Caribbean and displayed unflappable temperament against Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

With the dropping of Sehwag and Gambhir and India going through a rough patch opener-wise, one hoped vainly for his return into the folds, for the selectors in their mania for youth, had already marked him too old. The bulwark of Mumbai batting line-up and now Vidarbha, thus remains an unfinished tale even to this day.

#2 Subramaniam Badrinath

The gritty Subramaniam Badrinath has the lynchpin of Tamil Nadu squad since the mid-2000s. Averaging over 56 in First-class matches, the right-hander boasts of sound technique and lots of experience.

Adding to that, his brilliance as a fielder at point and anywhere else in the circle makes him precisely the kind of middle-order batsman any national team would want in their dressing room.

But his story remains as tragic as anybody could fathom. Having spent much of his time in and out of the national squad, Badrinath finally debuted in 2010 against South Africa and scored a half-century. However, he got only one more Test before being dropped.

After completing the 2010-11 domestic season as the highest run-getter in the First-class format, he was picked in the ODI team for the West Indies tour. He was drafted in as a replacement after VVS Laxman’s retirement, but never got a match.

For someone of his caliber, 2 Tests and 7 ODIs in a 15-year-long domestic career are hardly justifiable.

#3 Mithun Manhas

Born in October 1979, Mithun Manhas is at least five years younger than the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. It is often said that the prime of his career coincided with the Fab Four plying their trade in the national team, but it isn’t quite true.

It has been 7 years since Ganguly’s retirement and Manhas still continues to score centuries for Jammu and Kashmir. Before shifting allegiances, the wicketkeeper-batsman captained the Delhi Ranji team for the major part of the millennium and starred for the side during the 2007-08 triumph with 921 runs at an average of 57.56.

With 9505 runs in his First-class career including 26 tons and 49 fifties, his credentials are beyond doubt. It is only tragic that he never received a call-up from the selectors despite knocking at their doors for such a long time.

#4 BB Nimbalkar

The fourth highest innings score in first class cricket is also the highest score by a batsman in the history of Ranji Trophy, and it belongs to a lesser known Maharashtrian of the name Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar.

It is just unfortunate that Nimbalkar’s long and impressive domestic career is easily forgotten at the face of his mammoth 443 not out against Kathiawar at Pune in 1948-49.

Considering his aggregate of 3687 runs at 56.72 including 11 centuries in the Ranji Trophy, it’s perplexing why he did not have the fortune of representing his country in an official Test. The prolific right-hander scored 48 in the only match he played for India - against the first Commonwealth team in 1949-50 and faded into oblivion soon after.

#5 Manoj Tiwary

The complete batsman to emerge from Bengal after Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary had received his maiden call-up on the back of his astounding figures in the 2006-07 Ranji season - 796 runs at 99.50. As fate would have it, he ended up nursing a shoulder injury hours before the first one-dayer of the series.

Next year, his forgettable debut was cut short by a brilliant Brett Lee yorker which found him warming the benches for the following three years. His attempt at turning the tables with a maiden century - a Man of the Match effort nonetheless - against the West Indies in 2011 held little value as the selectors continued to favor the perennially deteriorating Rohit Sharma and a nondescript Suresh Raina.

He got a game in the fourth ODI during the Sri Lanka tour in 2012 and scripted a thumping comeback with 4/61 from his 10 overs and 38-ball 21 in difficult conditions. He completed the tour with a fluent 65 in the last match only to carry drinks in the subsequent series.

With a first class average of 53.99, one wonders what else he could have done to affect the selectors’ obstinate ignorance.

#6 Ranadeb Bose

Ranadeb Bose was earmarked for greatness when he was called up for a conditioning camp under newly-appointed Greg Chappell in 2005. Although that didn’t work out as planned, he made amends in the 2006-07 Ranji season with 57 wickets in eight matches, five-fors in five straight matches, and six in all, two 10-wicket hauls, and three four-wicket hauls in addition to that.

A legend of sorts in the Bengal dressing room, Bose holds the world record of bowling 10,708 balls in first-class and club games without overstepping. Tall and muscular, he was an overwhelming fast bowler with a flowing action and abundant speed. 317 wickets from 91 matches at 25.80 each and an economy of 2.77 offer ample evidence to his facilities as the spearhead of Bengal’s bowling attack.

Once a second-fiddle to Shib Shankar Paul, Bose matured as a bowler towards the latter half of his domestic career after several instances of non-selection. He cut down on pace and focused on an incisive line and length and late swing in hopes of reviving his international career that never really took off.

#7 Pankaj Singh

If you are talking unlucky, you are definitely talking about Rajasthan medium-fast bowler Pankaj Singh. After years of consistent efforts in tons of domestic matches and numerous denials by the selectors, Pankaj ultimately received his long due Test cap in 2014 at 29 years of age only to return to the pavilion with the worst figures by a debutante.

For the past five years, he has featured regularly in the list of top wicket-takers in Ranji Trophy. He helped Rajasthan to successive titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, finishing as the highest and third-highest wicket-taker respectively in those seasons.

Since 2009, Pankaj has completed each season with desperation to represent India and the question of what else he needs to do to find a place in the coveted playing XI.

#8 Laxmi Ratan Shukla

Ever snubbed by the national selectors, Laxmi Ratan Shukla remains a Ranji giant even after 17 years of first class experience. Not only has he made the most appearances for Bengal, but with 6196 runs at 36.02 and 172 wickets at 34.71 which include 3 five-fors, he has expertly shouldered the responsibility of the team in the absence of Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha and Ashok Dinda.

Factually speaking, Shukla did manage 3 ODIs in 1999 as a promising 17-year-old but that was all. Never the dreamer, the allrounder has always taken immense pride in leading Bengal, playing his heart out every time, despite being aware of his prematurely expired career in India colors.

The fact that this issue never held him back is a testament to his man-of-the-earth character that derives satisfaction day in and day out from the meager benefits of the domestic circuit.

All the time while the Indian team had forever been in the quest for an elusive all-rounder, Shukla has quietly continued his commendable work, winning matches for Bengal with the ball and saving the otherwise brittle batting line-up with determined resistance with the willow.

Hordes of cricketers came and went, but Shukla never received the call.

#9 Naman Ojha

Around the same time when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was scaling heights in the Indian team, his young and lesser-known compatriot Naman Ojha was struggling to find footing in the domestic circuit. It took some time before the Madhya Pradesh starlet came of age during the 2008-09 Challenger Trophy with an impressive 96 for India Green.

He was completely off the selectors’ radar for the next few years until his performances in the 2013-14 Ranji season stirred the nation. He amassed 835 runs in seven matches during that season and had already scored one fifty and eight centuries including three double tons by the end of next four.

Although he was drafted in as a replacement for reserve ‘keeper Wriddhiman Saha, match-time continued to elude him. It was only after 118 first class and 107 List A matches that he was granted his Test debut against Sri Lanka only recently before being sidelined once again for the South Africa series.

#10 Dhawal Kulkarni

“I’ve stopped thinking about the selectors. I feel disappointed not to get a second chance with the Indian side, but now I am taking it as a challenge to prove my worth,” Kulkarni had lamented after crossing the 100 first class wickets barrier in 2010 with figures of 26.5-13-52-5 against the Railways.

A familiar face in the Mumbai dressing room, pacer Dhawal Kulkarni proved his potency once again during the 2012-13 Ranji season, when he scalped 5/33 against the Services in the semi-final after scoring a crucial unbeaten 20 in the first innings.

In the finals, he picked up 4/24 and 5/32 against Saurashtra thereby ensuring a magnificent victory by an innings and 125 runs.

Earlier, Kulkarni was selected for the Test matches against New Zealand in 2009 but was denied a match in the series. It took 4 years and numerous good performances in the domestic circuit to place him back in the selectors’ radar, if only for a temporary period.