The ODI and T20I World Cups are considered as the pinnacle of limited-overs cricket. It is what all the players look forward to, all the teams build up and plan for. The bilateral series the teams play are kept in mind for the upcoming format of the World Cup.
Over the past almost 50 years of white-ball international cricket’s history, some of the greatest of the sport have featured in the biggest stage of all: The World Cup.
However, it is quite a bit of a surprise that not all legends of the game have participated or played in the mega-event due to various reasons, such as injuries, dip in form at the wrong time or not suited for the conditions.
Here are 5 great cricketers who have missed the World Cup in their careers:
Sir Alastair Cook
It is a really astonishing fact that former England skipper Sir Alastair Cook never featured in a World Cup game. One of the greatest ever Test batters, Cook made his ODI debut in 2006 and played 92 ODIs, captaining England in 69 of them.
But his reign between 2011 and 2014 was a tumultuous one and shockingly, he stepped down as the England ODI skipper and dropped out of the team just a few months before the 2015 World Cup in Australia. And before that he wasn’t part of England’s teams in 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman was Team India’s crisis man down the order in the Test team for a decade. Laxman had a decent ODI career of 86 matches from 1998 to 2006 wherein he registered 6 centuries, averaging 30. But he missed the two World Cups in between, in 1999 and 2003.
Laxman came close to making it into the squad in 2003, but all-rounder Dinesh Mongia was preferred over him eventually. Once dropped from the ODI side in 2006, Laxman couldn’t get back.
Justin Langer
Amongst the greatest Australian Test openers, Justin Langer donned the Baggy Green for 105 Tests. But, astoundingly, he got only 8 ODI caps between 1994 and 1997 before Adam Gilchrist cemented his place.
Langer averaged a mediocre 32 in ODIs with not a single half-century plus score, and never became a strong contender for a spot in Australia’s World Cup squad.
Cheteshwar Pujara
With 96 Tests under his belt and some memorable home and overseas performances, Cheteshwar Pujara is an Indian legend in the longest form of the game.
However, to no one’s surprise, Pujara couldn’t make it count in his 5 ODI opportunities in 2013 and 2014, managing 51 runs in all at a poor strike rate of less than 40. Nonetheless, Pujara’s legacy is cemented as amongst the greats of Indian Test cricket.
Matthew Hoggard
This is another name on this list which would startle many – former England pacer Matthew Hoggard played 26 ODIs, picking 32 wickets in them, in a 5-year period between 2001 and 2006. He was even part of England’s 2003 World Cup squad, but unfortunately couldn’t get a game in that tournament.
