10 Indian Test cricketers who never played white-ball cricket

Indian batsman Abhinav Mukund. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

In the long history of the sport, many cricketers came to be seen as the future of Indian cricket but had premature end to their promising careers. There have been many stars who performed fabulously in Test cricket but were never given the chance to represent India in international white-ball cricket.

Many names like Rakesh Shukla, Raghuram Bhat and Abhinav Mukund had good records in Test cricket, but none of these players ever got the opportunity to play an ODI or a T20I match.

 

Here are 10 Indian cricketers who played Tests but never featured in white-ball cricket:

10. Rakesh Shukla

Born in 1948, Rakesh Shukla is one of the few Indian cricketers who have played only one Test match. Shukla, in his time, was considered to be one of the star players of the Delhi state team. He also boasted an excellent record in the Ranji Trophy.

Shukla played 121 first-class games, where he scored 3,798 runs. He also had 295 wickets in the format, which made him one of the best all-rounders in domestic cricket and one of the biggest stars of the Delhi team.

In the only Test that Shukla played, he was unable to bat. He struck the ball twice, taking the wickets of Roy Dias and Duleep Mendis. However, he was never given the chance to represent India in white-ball cricket.

9. Iqbal Siddiqui

Iqbal Siddiqui, born in 1974, was known for his bowling, but he was just as effective with the bat. He is also one of the players who played only one Test match. He only managed to score 29 runs and take a wicket in that match against England which was played in 2001.

It was in First Class cricket where Siddiqui came into the limelight. He played 90 first-class matches, where he scored 1343 runs and took 315 wickets as well.

List A cricket was where he took 80 wickets in 59 matches and scored 385 runs. Despite such a record in domestic cricket, he, too, was unable to represent India in white-ball cricket.

8. Raghuram Bhat

Raghuram Bhat was called up to the national team after a string of remarkable performances in domestic cricket. Bhat had a remarkable record in first-class cricket, taking 374 wickets in 82 matches.

He also scored 754 runs in the many first-class matches he played. Thanks to his performances in domestic cricket, he was called up to the national Test team but never represented India in white-ball cricket.

Many opine that Bhat was dropped from the national squad too soon, as he was one of the best bowlers on the right pitch. His first Test wicket was none other than former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad.

7. Robin Singh Jr.

Another one of the players who never got to represent India in white-ball cricket, Robin Singh Jr., was, however, once viewed as the future of Indian cricket. Robin scored 196 runs and took 149 wickets in 45 first-class matches.

Robin was Delhi’s leading wicket-taker, which led to his selection in the Indian team when they took on New Zealand back in the 1998–99 season. In his first Test game, Robin picked up three wickets, two in the first innings and one in the second.

Despite his decent showing for the national team, he was never given another chance again.

6.  Abhinav Mukund

Born in 1990, Abhinav Mukund was also seen as the future of Indian cricket by many. He played seven Test matches for the national team, where he managed to score 320 runs.

He never got the opportunity, however, to represent India in white-ball cricket. First-class cricket is where Mukund played his best cricket, scoring a mammoth 10,258 runs in 145 matches. It is hard to forget his unbeaten knock of 300 runs which he played against a star-studded Maharashtra side, in 2008.

However, unlucky injuries at important points of his career rendered Mukund unable to represent the national team in white-ball cricket.

5. David Johnson

David Jude Johnson had a fantastic career in domestic cricket. Born in 1971, Johnson played 39 first-class matches in his career, where he was able to pick up 125 wickets and score 437 runs.

His performances in domestic cricket did earn him a place in the Test squad of team India when they took on Australia in an one off Test match at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in 1996.

Johnson came into the squad after Srinath was dropped due to injury. He represented the Indian team in two Test matches, where he took three wickets and scored eight runs.

4. Yajurvindra Singh

With a remarkable record in Test cricket, Yajurvindra Singh also had a fabulous career in first-class cricket, with 3,765 runs and 50 wickets in 78 matches.

Yajurvindra Singh made his way into the Indian team, where he represented them in four Test matches.

In a unique achievement, he holds two world records which he earned right on his Test debut. Taking five catches in the first innings, he equaled the record of Australia’s Vic Richardson, and he caught two more in the second innings, which saw him equal the record of Greg Chappell for seven catches in a single match.

3. Hemant Kanitkar

Hemant Shamsunder Kanitkar also boasted an excellent record in first-class cricket. With 5,006 runs in 87 matches and a single wicket to his name, Kanitkar represented India in two Test matches.

Kanitkar scored 111 runs across the two matches that he played for India. He scored a career-best 65 runs against the West Indies, but he was unable to follow it up in the matches after that, which made him lose his place in the squad.

He too, was not opted to represent India in white-ball cricket as his domestic record did not justify his performances with the national team.

2. Ramnath Parkar

One of the players who could not achieve their potential, like many others, was Ramnath Parkar, who also had a fabulous record in first-class cricket. Parkar scored 4,455 runs in 85 First Class matches which rightfully earned him a place in the Indian team.

Many opine that Parkar should have been part of the Indian team that played in the 1975 World Cup. He represented the national side in two Test matches, where he scored 80 runs.

He was one of the best batters in Ranji and enjoyed a fabulous domestic career before he, unfortunately, lost his life after an accident in 1995, which rendered him comatose before till demise in 1999.

1. Dhiraj Parsana

After taking 320 wickets and scoring 2,946 runs in 93 first-class matches, Dhiraj Parsana was picked for team India after a string of excellent performances in the domestic circuit.

Parsana was picked for the national team for a Test series against the West Indies back in the 1978–79 season. Across the two matches that Parsana played for India, he scored a single run and took one wicket as well.

Due to his poor performance with the national team, Parsana was not opted to play for India again, nor did he represent the team in white-ball cricket.