There is no doubt that cricket is one of the most entertaining sports in the World. But for the players, it is also one of the most unpredictable games. Every cricket player has to give their best and perform consistently for a team. Indian players dropped due to their poor form and inconsistent performances. However, some unfortunate Indian players did not get many opportunities to perform for India. So, let's look at the top ten Unlucky Indian players.
1. VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman is a former right-handed batsman of India and has played many memorable innings for India. VVS Laxman's 281 innings against Australia at Eden Gardens is considered one of the best test innings. The Government of India also awarded VVS Laxman Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award. Despite his outstanding records in test matches, he could not fix his position in ODI cricket. VVS Laxman only played 86 ODIs, scoring 2,338 runs with an average of 30.8. VVS Laxman is one of the few players who played over 100 test matches but could not play a single World Cup match.
2. Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara is one of India's best test specialist batsmen in test cricket. No one can forget his contribution to the 2018 and 2021 Border-Gavaskar trophy, where India won the test series on Australian soil. Undoubtedly, Cheteshwar Pujara is one of India's most essential batsmen in test cricket. But he only got to play five ODI matches. Cheteshwar Pujara made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2013, and after playing against Bangladesh in 2014, he never got a chance to play in ODI cricket.
3. Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra is a former leg spinner of India. His career is a prime example of one's career got ruined due to a lack of opportunities in the team's squad. Amit Mishra debuted in 2003 when Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were at the peak of their careers. Then, Ashwin and Jadeja replaced this duo after Kuldeep and Chahal duo Amit Mishar only got a few opportunities to prove himself in international cricket. Amit Mishra could only play 22 tests, 36 ODI, and 10 T20 Internationals in his career.
4. Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary is a former right-handed batsman from India. Undoubtedly, Manoj Tiwary is one of the most unfortunate Indian players. In his first selected tour of Bangladesh, he could not debut due to injury. Again, in the 2008 tri-series, he got to play only innings and scored two runs. In most of the top series, Manoj Tiwary got benched, and after the 2012 Asia Cup, he stopped being selected for India's squad. Manoj Tiwary has played only 12 ODI and 3 T20 Internationals in his career.
5. Ambati Rayudu
It is undoubtedly unfair that players like Ambati Rayudu did not have many chances for India on the international stage. What happened to him before the 2019 World Cup was extremely unfortunate, as Ambati Rayudu was not selected for the World Cup squad 2019. Even after two batsmen were injured, he was not specified in the World Cup squad. Instead, Vijay Shankar and Rishab Pant came as an injury replacement. After all this, Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement from international cricket. He always needed more opportunities to prove himself as Ambati Rayudu has played only 55 ODI and 6 T20.
6. Erapalli Prasanna
Erapalli Prasanna is one of the best spinners that India has ever produced. Between the 1960s and '70s, he was one of India's famous spin quartets, including Srinivas, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Prasanna. Erapalli Prasanna played 49 test matches, taking 189 wickets; he even ruled first-class cricket, where Prasanna took 957 wickets in 235 games. Unfortunately, Erapalli Prasanna could never make his ODI debut as he was not selected for the inaugural 1975 World Cup. Even in the 1979 World Cup, India missed out on him as Prasanna took his retirement in the year 1978.
7. Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel's international career has been unfortunate as he did not get many opportunities to show his performances. After becoming the youngest wicketkeeper to make his test debut in 2002, Parthiv Patel was selected for the 2003 World Cup. Still, the Indian team decided to use Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper, and he was benched throughout the 2003 World Cup. After the MS Dhoni's rise in the white-ball cricket, no other wicketkeeper got a chance to play in the World Cups. In his career, Parthiv Patel played 25 tests and 38 ODI.
8. Praveen Kumar
Praveen Kumar is one of the best wing bowlers that India has ever produced. However, due to limited opportunities and injuries, his career was ruined. Praveen Kumar debuted against Pakistan in 2007, and it looked like he would be the future of India's bowling. But his career could have gone further as Praveen Kumar played only 6 test and 68 ODI matches for India. In 2012, Praveen Kumar played his last ODI match against Pakistan, taking two wickets.
9. Lakshmipathy Balaji
Lakshmipathy Balaji is a former fast-bowler of India. In 2002, he made his debut against West Indies. However, Lakshmipathy Balaji came into the limelight after he performed in the 2004 India-Pakistan series. Lakshmipathy Balaji used to be one of the prominent fast bowlers in India. Despite his match-winning bowling performances, he did not get much chance on the international stage. Lakshmipathy Balaji played only eight tests, 30 ODI, and 5 T20I in his career.
10. Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer is one of the greatest batsmen in the Indian domestic cricket. In the 260 first-class matches, he has scored 19,410 runs with an average of 50.7. It is unfair that Wasim Jaffer had few opportunities to prove himself internationally. He made his test debut against South Africa in 2000, and despite having outstanding records in domestic cricket, Wasim Jaffer could not succeed in international cricket. In his career, Wasim Jaffer has played only 31 test matches, scoring 1,944 runs with an average of 34.1.
