5 domestic stars who are ignored by MS Dhoni

May 24, 2016 at 6:40 PM

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5 domestic stars who are ignored by MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is probably the only captain in the history of cricket who, despite achieving almost everything in cricket, is hated as much as he is loved by the cricket fans. One of the reasons for that is his preference to stick with a fixed group of players even when they perform poorly and as a result a lot players who, despite doing brilliantly in the domestic circuit, have found it extremely tough to make it to the Indian team.

After the retirement of stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Virendra Sehwag there was a huge possibility for the players to make it to the Indian team but unfortunately they have found chances hard to come by.

Let us have a look at 5 domestic stars who deserved an extended run in the Indian team.

1. Dhawal Kulkarni:

kulkarni1
Spearheading the Mumbai’s attack in Ranji trophy for years, Kulkarni is one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit.
In his first Ranji season, he emerged the tournament’s most successful bowler, taking 42 wickets . The dream season continued with his inclusion in the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand in 2009.

He did not get to play a match on the tour, and had to wait another five years to make his international debut, in the fourth ODI during India’s tour of England in 2014. He picked up eight wickets at 18.62 in the home ODI series against Sri Lanka later that year, but opportunities since have been scarce, with his only chances in 2015 coming on ODI tours of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. With the Indian team always craving for a good ODI bowler, Kulkarni with his accuracy should have got the chance.

2.Kedar Jadhav:

Kedar-Jadhav-Maharashtra-Ranji-Trophy

Kedar Jadhav made a name for himself in 2013-14, finishing as the season’s highest run-getter with 1223 runs including six centuries.
He had a forgettable debut against Sri Lanka as he could score only 20 runs and was dropped soon after. He was then called up for the Zimbabwe tour later that year.After failing to perform in the first couple of matches, the right-hander hit a brilliant century in the third ODI to show everyone what he was capable of.What made that century more special is the situation under which it came. India were tottering at 82 for 4 before Jadhav came in and took India to a good total.
He would have thought that the century would act as a stepping stone for him in the international cricket but unfortunately he is still waiting to get a chance in the Indian team.

3. Robin Uthappa:

RobinUtthapa_Reuters

Out of all the names, the team management’s decision to not give Uthappa a chance in the team is the most baffling one. He was one of the most important player for India way back in 20017. But then a string of poor performances saw him getting sidelined from the team in 2008.
Uthappa, who is fondly remembered for his heroics in England in 2007 his when his unbeaten 47 off only 33 balls helped India to level the series, had a superb 2013-14 domestic season in which Karnataka completed a rare treble – winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Uthappa followed that up with an outstanding IPL in 2014, in which he scored 40 or more in ten successive innings and was the leading run-scoring of the tournament.
His fine showing saw him getting picked for the Bangladesh tour where he finished the series as India’s highest run scorer with a half-century in a rain interrupted series.
After that he was dropped again, but that did not hamper his confidence as he led the run charts in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season as Karnataka became the first domestic team to repeat their title-winning treble again.Even after doing so much,he never got an extended run in the Indian team and as a result failed to cement his place in the team.

4. Manoj Tiwary:

manojtiwaryl
One of the most unfortunate players one can ever see, he injured his shoulder on the eve of his debut against Bangladesh.In 2008 he made his debut against Australia, but faced the wrath of Brett Lee as he was dismissed for 2.He had to wait three years to get another call from the Indian team.He scored a century against West Indies in Chennai in 2011 but then he was dropped but was mysteriously benched for months.He got some handful of chances after that but a player with 6358 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 52.98 really deserves an extended run in the team.

5.Naman Ojha:

15ojha

While replacing MS Dhoni from wicket-keeping is completely out of proportion, Madhya Pradesh’s wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha should have got a good number of chances in the Indian team after his recent performances with the bat.

The right-hander had a brilliant 2013-14 domestic season for Madhya Pradesh, scoring 835 runs in seven Ranji Trophy games. He kept on piling runs as he  scored three consecutive centuries, including a double-century,  for India A  in Australia  in 2014. He also hit a double-century in Duleep trophy. The good showing helped him to get a call but he did not get a chance in the playing XI. With age not on his side, it is now highly unlikely that he will get the chance to represent India.

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