Getting a call to represent your country has to be the biggest wish or desire for any budding cricketer. Even if you are past a certain age, you will still have that dream, to wear your country’s jersey. However, not everyone’s dreams become reality. In a country such as India, whose population is very high, you can imagine how many great talents will emerge. The IPL is a good platform for these players to showcase their skills, and maybe get that call to play for the national side. However, there are players, who even after a great IPL career haven’t played for the national side, today we will be looking at those players and their unfortunate story.
THE JIM CARREY OF CRICKET… IPL LEGENDS WHO NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO REPRESENT INDIA
source: IPL20
IQBAL ABDULLA:
Sayed Iqbal Abdulla is a left-arm spinner, who can even bat at the lower order. He has played for three teams in the IPL. He spent 6 seasons at Kolkata Knight Riders, one season at Rajasthan Royals, and 2 seasons at Royal Challengers Bangalore, his last appearance was in the 2017 edition of the IPL. Even after all these years of consistent performances, it wasn’t enough for him to get a chance to wear the blue jersey. Abdulla played 49 matches, picking up 40 wickets at an average of 27.73. He also had an economic rate of 7.23, which was really impressive. Abdulla’s best season was the 2011 edition of the IPL, where he picked up 16 wickets, He was a part of the title-winning squad in 2012. Even after all these exploits, he wasn’t able to represent India even once.
MITHUN MANHAS:
Next on the list, we have, Mithun Manhas. The Jammu and Kashmir-born player was an all-rounder who could occasionally don the wicket-keeping gloves. In the IPL, he has played for three teams. He represented Delhi Daredevils for three seasons, he was then purchased by Pune Warriors, he played three seasons with them as well before playing a single season for Chennai Super Kings. Mithun has played 55 matches in the IPL and has scored a total of 515 runs with a high score of 42 not out. Apart from IPL, Mithun has performed consistently in domestic tournaments, at one point he was Delhi’s best player. Even after all his brilliant performances, he never got the chance to represent India. Currently, he is RCB’s assistant coach. Even though he couldn’t play for India, he got the opportunity to coach the Indian captain.
MANVINDER BISLA:
Manvinder Bisla is one of those players, who has showcased his skills multiple times but never got the opportunity to play for India. His IPL career is pretty impressive and also serves as a validation of this man’s skills. In the IPL, Bisla has played for 4 teams, Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, with his best performances coming in the purple jersey. In 2011, Bisla was signed by Kolkata and since then played crucial roles in both, the 2011 and the 2012 title-winning season. In the final against Chennai Super Kings, he played match-winning innings of 89 off just 48 balls. He was awarded the man of the match award for his prowess with the bat. Bisla has played 39 matches in the IPL, scoring 798 runs, with a high score of 92.
RAJAT BHATIA:
The Delhi-born all-rounder was an absolutely brilliant player, who shared his expertise with 4 teams in the IPL. Bhatia had all the capabilities to be a star player for India, at least in the T20 format. Bhatia has played for Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and the Rising Pune Supergiants. Similar to Manvinder Bisla, Rajat Bhatia’s best season was also for the Knight Riders. He played a crucial role in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In the 2011 season, due to his escapades with the bowl, KKR finished in the top 4 and qualified for the Champions League T20, he was one of KKR’s best players in that tournament. In the 2012 season, Bhatia played 17 matches and took 13 wickets, and also scored 35 runs with the bat. He was one of KKR’s best players, and due to such performances, KKR was able to win the tournament.
PRAVIN TAMBE:
All of us know the interesting story of Pravin Tambe, the Bombay-born spinner who made his IPL debut at the age of 41, what is even more interesting is that Pravin had never played for his state prior to his IPL debut. Tambe has played for 4 teams in the IPL, playing most of it for Rajasthan Royals. Tambe was awarded the Golden Wicket award in the Champions League tournament in 2013. He also took a hat-trick against KKR in the 2014 edition of the IPL, which later earned him the man of the match award. Tambe has played 33 matches in the IPL, taking 18 wickets. His best figure was 4/20. After his IPL performance, everyone expected him to get a call to play for the national side, but unfortunately, the cal never came.
It’s a shame that such talented players never got the chance to play for India, but that just shows how elite or best of the best you have to be to get a call to play for the national side.
