10 Indian cricket players who once considered the next Sachin and Kapil Dev but failed miserably.

IN A NATION where cricket is considered a religion, almost every child has at one point imagined himself hitting the ball out of park and marking a century or to pull off a down the ground Sachin style straight drive. 

Cricket has championed many such dreams till now. Stories of underdogs becoming national sensation has given rise to the cult of representing the nation, putting on Team India’s jersey in crowds of thousands are sold like a story of a bollywood movie.

But every aspiration doesn’t bear fruit according to one’s desire. Some have also succumbed to pressure of achieving an immeasurable feat in a cut-throat competition and some give up at a stage after performing fair at early stages also called first class cricket. 

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10 cricketers who at the beginning showed an impeccable potential but failed miserably.

1. Ajay Sharma- This destructive Delhi opener had the average of an unimaginable 67.46 in first class cricket but still could not sustain his international career for so long. He was part of team India for only one test and 31 one day internationals (ODI) matches scoring runs with an average of 26.5 and 20.19 respectively.

2. Akash Chopra- One of the most popular commentators of this era, he also started his first class career with Delhi. With an average of 45 he had scored more than 10,000 runs in his first class career. His big break came during 2003-04 India’s tour to Australia as an opener along with Virendra Sehwag. But his inability to turn a good start compelled the management to show him out at the early stage of his career.

3. Subramaniam Badrinath- Another 10,000 run holder in first class cricket. Playing Ranaji from Tamil Nadu side and has been one of the consistent performers on the domestic circuit, piling on runs almost at will. Despite this he could manage to appear in two test matches and seven ODI matches with an average of 21 and 15.8 respectively.

4. Hrishikesh Kanitkar- Remembered for his unforgettable last over boundary on Saqlain Mushtaq’s ball to seize an impossible victory against Pakistan on. Although he was a successful first class batsman scoring over 10,000 runs and 74 wickets, his stint with team India lasted only for two tests and 34 ODI’s with an average of 18.5 and 17.84 respectively.

5. R. Vinay Kumar- A right-arm fast-medium pacer was given a chance in one test and 34 matches where he grabbed one test wicket and 38 ODI wickets with a bowling average of 73 and 37.45 respectively. Other than that he led the Karnataka team to complete their treble (Ranji, Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali titles), in a single season but his medium pace couldn’t prove much lethal to the new generation destructive batsman.

6. Vikram Rathour- The right hand batsman and wicketkeeper represent India in only six test and seven ODI matches with an average of 13.10 and 27.57 respectively.

7. Pankaj Singh- A powerhouse bowler in a domestic arena, Pankaj spanned more than 100 first class matches with over 450 wickets with an average of 23.76. In 2014 he was selected for India's tour to England but his luckless performance only ended up with only two wickets. 

8. Vijay Bhardwaj- With an domestic season of 1,000 runs he was supposed to be next big player from the Indian side but it only ended up with three tests and 10 ODI at an average of 9.33 and 27.2 respectively.

9. Devang Gandhi- A right-handed batsman chosen to fill an empty opening seat. He showed promise as an opener against New Zealand but during India’s tour to Australia his weak performance proved his career’s last nail in the coffin.

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10. Jacob Martin- Another hit and miss opportunity failed miserably with a rough patch of 10 ODI matches, scoring only 158 runs at an average of 22.57 

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