Five Indians Who Could Have Contributed More If They Were Not Injury Prone

Sep 5, 2017 at 5:20 PM

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Five Indians Who Could Have Contributed More If They Were Not Injury Prone

Injuries play the role of an evil antagonist for any sports person, as they tend to distort the career of a promising individual massively.

Over the years went by, team India has had several legendary players, who were extremely injury prone. The eventual result of being injured is that apart from the player missing out on the game, the team suffers as the services of that individual are dearly missed. In this modern age of the game, where working out in the gym and constantly monitoring the diet has become an integral aspect and players tend to get injured on a far less frequent basis than what the stars of the previous era did.

It leads us to an interesting scenario as for how better could it have been if a few Indian players were a little less injury prone. It is no secret that India as a side has missed out on several tournaments just because of the absence of a few players.

Who can forget the tennis elbow woe to Sachin Tendulkar, and how the Indian batting lineup faltered in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy without him?

Keeping that in mind, below, we have a look at five such Indian cricketers, who could have contributed more if they were not injury prone.

  1. Ashish Nehra:
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 3: Ashish Nehra of India sits dejected after falling during his delivery during his delivery during the VB Series One Day International between Zimbabwe and India at the WACA on February 3, 2004, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Jon Buckle/Getty Images)

Before saying anything, one has to bow down to the sheer spirit of Ashish Nehra for making a comeback into the Indian T20I side at the unbelievable age of 36. When he made a comeback into the international scene last year against Australia in Oceania, it was a glorious sight to witness the left-arm pacer back in action, as he provided India with breakthroughs with the new ball and solved a massive headache for then skipper MS Dhoni.

But then, it even made Indian fans wondered, as to what could have potentially happened if Nehra had been in better shape in the previous years and been able to bowl in his prime. Apart from having a fine record for himself, Nehra would have easily solved India’s woes of death bowling, an issue that riddled the team for years.

The Delhi pacer lost a major chunk of his prime years to an array of injuries such as knee and shoulder woes. After getting his hand fractured in the semi final of the 2011 World Cup against Pakistan, he remained out of action for five years, only to make a comeback when no one expected him to.

But when he returned, he did play his part to a significant extent, as he played a key role in India’s triumph in the 2016 Asia Cup.

  1. RP Singh:
MUMBAI (BOMBAY), INDIA – OCTOBER 17: RP Singh of India appeals unsuccessfully against Ricky Ponting of Australia during the seventh one-day international match between India and Australia at Wankhede Stadium on October 17, 2007, in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

Several pundits feel that India lost an absolute jewel in left-arm pacer RP Singh, thanks to a chunk of injuries hampering him. When he first made an impression on the international scene, Singh was seen someone with a relatively easy action and who could viciously swing the ball into the right hander, causing a lot of trouble at the top.

A five-fer at Lord’s and having his name on the honors board was a memorable feat for the Uttar Pradesh pacer. But his finest Test performance was up at Perth, where his strikes helped India seal probably their most important overseas win of all time. Not to forget, he was the side’s leading wicket taker in the 2007 World T20 triumph, and a complete pillar of strength.

It was too sad that RP suddenly disappeared after late 2009 into wilderness thanks to injuries. He did spring up a couple of years later in England, but was far from being his old self, with his pace down by at least 10 to 15 km/hr.

  1. Zaheer Khan:
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 21: Zaheer Khan of India leaves the field with an injury during day 1 of the 1st Npower Test Match between England and India at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 21, 2011, in London, England. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)

While his fans can boast of the fact that Zaheer was probably India’s greatest pacer since Kapil Dev, but people who have followed his career are aware that he couldn’t be at his full optimization thanks to injuries.

In his own self, Khan stands among the biggest match winners for India. His record is simply impeccable, and he was the Man of the Series in India’s historic series in England in 2007. But there have been several missed opportunities for the Mumbai pacer mainly due to knee, shoulder and groin injuries. Twice, yes twice he had missed the Test series’ in Australia after breaking down right in the very first game of the tour.

In 2003, he was breathing fire at the Gabba and was a demon for the Aussies as his burst rattled them. Zaheer was so lethal that he even sent back Steve Waugh to the dressing room, retired hurt. But then, he broke down after the first Test and had to miss the remaining games of the tour.

History repeated itself exactly after four years, as after getting a five wicket haul on the opening day of the tour at the MCG, he once again broke down, to miss the entire tour.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 26: Zaheer Khan of India celebrates as Australian Captain Ricky Ponting heads for the pavilion during day one of the First Test match between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

Call it fate or whatever, but another three and a half years later, just as he dismissed the English openers on a gloomy London morning, he was pictured holding his hamstring on the opening day of the series. That was it. That was his end of the tour and ironically, his last one to England. He did make a comeback to the Test side for the tours of South Africa and New Zealand and was even supposed to lead the attack for the tour to England in 2014, but he picked up another injury in the IPL in Dubai, and that was the end of his career.

Having missed three series’ outside the subcontinent, his numbers would have been even better had he been less injury prone.

  1. Virender Sehwag:
DELHI, INDIA – OCTOBER 31: Virender Sehwag of India receives treatment after an injury during the third One Day International match between India and Australia at Feroz Shah Kotla on October 31, 2009, in Delhi, India. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

A few might get confused and analyze that if Sehwag was that injury prone to feature so high on this list. But the fact remains, that he got injury prone at an extremely critical phase in his career.

Right from the beginning of 2008 till the end of the 2011 World Cup, Sehwag was an absolute beast in all forms of the game. He decimated bowling attacks for fun and was nothing less than a nightmare for the bowlers. In 58 ODI’s played from January 2008 till the end of the 2011 World Cup, Sehwag scored 2529 runs with six centuries to his name, at an average of 45.98.

The most impressive part though, was his strike rate in this phase, as he scored 122.94 runs every 100 deliveries. To imagine these numbers in a phase where there was still some balance between the bat and ball is simply out of this world.

However, this is where injuries took a toll on him. In this phase, he missed as many as three ICC events, thanks to injuries. Sehwag missed the 2009 World T20 in England, 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and the 2010 World T20 in the Caribbean.

Having missed three ICC events in less than 12 months, was a disaster, as Sehwag was in the form of his life. Had he played in them, he was certain to have won India atleast one title, such was his dominance. But that wasn’t to be.

  1. Yuvraj Singh:
CHENNAI, INDIA – MARCH 20: Yuvraj Singh of India suffering from the heat is attended by umpire Steve Davis during the Group B ICC World Cup match between India and West Indies at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on March 20, 2011, in Chennai, India. (Photo by Graham Crouch/Getty Images)

Without a second thought, the biggest loss to Indian cricket was the cancer illness to Yuvraj Singh. He was vomiting blood before and during the 2011 World Cup was underway, yet he stood with the team and gave his all, just to have that World Cup next to him.

Such was his passion, dedication, and love for the game. Post winning the Man of the Series in the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj was out of action for over 18 months, as cancer took an enormous toll on his career and life. When he returned, he wasn’t the same enthralling match-winner for the side, though, he did quite well. But those 18 months which he lost, were the beginning of his prime and he lost on arguably the finest bulk of his career.

Who knows, had he remained in good health, he would have surely amassed over 11,000 ODI runs and got to 200 ODI wickets, as he was just starting to emerge as a genuine all-rounder for India. The fact remains, cancer took out his best years from him, but that doesn’t stop us from counting him among the all-time greats of the game.

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