Indian cricket was going through a transition period in the mid-2000s. One of the new players in the team was MS Dhoni from Ranchi, Jharkhand who debuted in 2004.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni got out for a duck on his debut ODI, soon he put it behind to make a big impact on the Indian team and on the Indian public. The belligerent, fearless, powerful ball smasher hit Indian cricket like no other player.
Just three years after making his debut, Mahendra Singh Dhoni found himself leading the national side and by 2008 he was the all-format captain. Over the next decade, he led India to numerous glories and filled the cabinet with number of trophies, the most memorable of which are the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy, and the Test mace.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s impact on Indian fans also came through his batting, as he became arguably the greatest finisher in white-ball cricket.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his early chances count and went on to have a long career at the highest level, a few other players who made their India debuts around the time Mahendra Singh Dhoni did, failed to create similar impact and had short India careers.
Here are 3 players who made their debuts with and after MS Dhoni, but soon faded away from the national team:
Venugopal Rao
Hailing from Visakhapatnam, right-handed batsman Venugopal Rao made his India debut in 2005 after impressive performances in domestic cricket and for India A. However, in 16 ODIs, Venugopal managed an average of 24 and just one fifty which saw him out of the national side in a year’s time. The Andhra Pradesh batsman last played in domestic cricket in 2017. He then became a commentator for local channels.
Joginder Sharma
Joginder Sharma‘s name is etched in Indian history books as the bowler who took the last wicket in the 2007 T20 WC final against Pakistan.
Joginder had made his ODI debut in the same match with Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2004, however, after his heroics in the final vs Pakistan, the seamer didn’t get any chance and finished with 4 ODIs and 4 T20Is, taking 5 wickets in all.
He continued to play domestic cricket till 2017. He’s now a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Haryana.
Subramaniam Badrinath
Subramaniam Badrinath’s career is one that has gone unfulfilled despite having the class and talent. Famously known as the crisis man of Chennai Super Kings, Badrinath, who became a domestic legend, couldn’t get his India career going.
He made his India debut in 2008. The Tamil Nadu batter got to play 7 ODIs, 1 T20I and 2 Tests with just a solitary fifty-plus score. He continued to plunder big runs in domestic cricket until calling time in 2018.
