James Faulkner of Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
In international cricket, many stories of success and diligence have emerged in front of passionate fans. Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Shane Warne and many other players debuted for their respective national teams at a young age and became huge figures in international cricket due to their outstanding performances.
After gaining fame, these players became more responsible to break into the list of cricketing greats. Like these players, there have been several names who became notable names in the initial phase of their careers but got pushed into anonymity due to their infamous acts or a steep decline in their performances.
Here are five international players who disappeared from the cricketing limelight after beginning their careers in an exceptional manner
5. Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kumbli. (Photo Source : Gettyimages)
During the 1990s, Vinod Kambli was one of the names who was expected to do big for India in the international circuit. After making his Test debut in 1993, he notched up four centuries in his first seven games. Kambli, who grew up playing cricket with Sachin Tendulkar, put up an outstanding show with his bat.
At the age of 24, Kambli got dropped from the Test team due to disciplinary issues. In his three-year Test career, he scored 1084 runs with four centuries and three fifties in 21 innings of 17 Tests. He played his last One-Day International (ODI) game in 2000 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah. In 2011, Kambli announced his retirement from first-class cricket after serving Mumbai for 22 years.
In 2011, Kambli got embroiled in controversy while speaking to a TV channel. Accusing his former colleagues of match-fixing, he said India lost the 1996 World Cup semi-final due to some of his teammates’ involvement in fixing the game.
4. Carlos Brathwaite
Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo by Jan Kruger-IDI/IDI via Getty Images)
West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite became a star player overnight following his heroics in the 2016 T20 World Cup final against England. Hitting four sixes in the high-voltage game at iconic Eden Gardens, Brathwaite helped his team to pull off the difficult task of scoring 19 in the last over.
Following his stunning knock, Windies cricket supporters expected him to uplift the standard of their team. Till 2019, his performance was decent for the West Indies but after the 2019 World Cup in England, he struggled to be among the runs and wickets. Witnessing his dismal performances, Cricket West Indies dropped him from the squad.
The ODI match between West Indies and India at Queen’s Park Oval in August 2019 is his last appearance in the international circuit. Currently, the 34-year-old Caribbean player actively participates in T20 leagues.
3. James Faulkner
Australian cricketer James Faulkner. (Photo credit INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images)
There was a time when James Faulkner used to be an important name for Australia. Riding on his spunky all-round performances, the Aussie team won a lot of games in white-ball cricket. In October 2017, the Tasmania-born played his last international match during Australia’s tour of India for a five-match ODI competition.
In Australia’s fifth ODI title win in the 2015 World Cup, Faulkner played his part brilliantly. Playing six games, he showcased his efficiency with the ball, picking up 10 wickets in six innings of six matches. Faulkner became the joint-fifth-highest wicket-taker in ODIs in 2016, grabbing 24 wickets in 16 innings of 17 matches, at an economy of 5.44.
After 2017, injuries and non-performance led to the all-rounder’s decline. In 2022, Faulkner grabbed the headlines for a negative reason as he left the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to payment issues with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
2. S Sreesanth
Sreesanth. (Photo Source: Twitter)
S Sreesanth broke into international cricket in 2005 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy and became an integral part of the Indian team. Among pacers such as RP Singh, Munaf Patel, and VRV Singh, Sreesanth came out as an extraordinary pace-bowling talent in the Indian cricket team.
In March 2006, Sreesanth made his Test debut against England in Nagpur and showcased his mettle with the ball, clinching 4/95 figures in the first innings. In 2007, the speedster was a part of the Indian side that won the 2007 World T20 trophy under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in South Africa.
From 2005-07, Sreesanth played magnificently in the ODI format but his performance plunged in 2008. In the 2011 World Cup, he replaced Praveen Kumar in the team, who got injured before the event. The year 2011 turned out to be his last appearance in the international circuit. Sreesanth got arrested on charges of spot-fixing in IPL 2013. After six years of the infamous incident, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reduced his ban to seven years after Supreme Court’s instruction to the board to reconsider the pacer’s suspension in 2019.
1. Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal of Pakistan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Umar Akmal kicked off his career for Pakistan in 2009, making his debut in all forms of the sport in the year. The right-handed batter grabbed a lot of eyeballs in a few years and became an essential name for his team. In 2011, he also became the third-leading run-scorer for Pakistan.
Akmal played consistently for Pakistan for eight years. Ahead of the 2017 Champions Trophy, he also got removed from the squad due to fitness issues. Following this incident, he also got dropped for almost two years. Ahead of the 2019 World Cup, he played five ODIs for Pakistan but got left out of the team for the marquee ODI event held in England.
In October 2019, selectors picked up Akmal for a three-match T20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka at home, but he couldn’t open his account with the bat in the two games he got. The Lahore-born cricketer also got banned in 2020 for one and a half years for failing to report corrupt approaches made to him ahead of the 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).