Cricket is a funny game because players get to witness the highest point in their professional careers and it could all be gone in an instant. There are so many players who played for the country and started off well but just lost their way and have rarely made it back since:
Robin Uthappa:
Uthappa was a batsman who had a sound technique and could smash deliveries in the limited overs format of the game. He was great in the England series before being a major part of the team that won the inaugural ICC World T20.
After a few unconvincing performances, he was dropped from the team and it has been a long time since he has featured for the country again.
Pathan brothers:
Both the Pathan brothers at different stages in their careers were important to the Indian team but soon faded away. Irfan was a prodigious talent who scalped a hat-trick in Pakistan at the age of just 18 but injuries and bad form took their toll.
Elder brother Yusuf became known as a massive hitter in T20s and ODIs but his high was just too short. He was dropped and the both of them have just not been able to make a comeback since.
Mohammad Kaif:
Mohammad Kaif is still one of the most popular players to have played for India because he had exceptional fielding ability and played a legendary innings in Lord’s that endeared him to all the fans of Indian cricket.
He had a purple patch for about a year and a half after which he lost form and never made it back to the Indian team again.
Wasim Jaffer:
Jaffer was another player who was never able to settle in the Indian team despite playing a few crucial innings. There was just too much competition from the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir and Jaffer had to contend playing third fiddle.
He did score a few runs in the international circuit before he was dropped from the team entirely and never selected again.
Lakshmipathy Balaji:
The Tamil Nadu bowler was very popular during the Australian and Pakistan tours, picking up wickets at regular intervals back in 2004-05 and earned the moniker, “The Smiling Assassin” as he would always be in a jolly mood.
He lost his form and then never really got back to the team though he was popular in the Indian Premier League with CSK and KKR.
Parthiv Patel:
The diminuitive wicketkeeper from Gujarat was a mere teenage boy when he made his debut in Australia of all places. He managed to keep well and was regarded as the country’s number one keeper.
That was until MS Dhoni came along. The Jharkhand player went on to carve his own spot and ended becoming a legend of the game. Patel did feature in between but they were all ultimately in patches.
S. Sreesanth:
Sreesanth was one player who never shied from showing his emotions on the field. While he was a hot-head, he was not liked by many opposition and was constantly getting banned for his antics.
It all came to an end when he was banned from the game for match-fixing and has never got the opportunity to redeem himself.
By Rohit Nair
