Top 3 Indian Cricket Stars Who Never Played in the ICC Cricket World Cup
Exceptional performance notwithstanding, three Indian cricket stars never given a chance in any ODI World Cup
Team India’s 13th World Cup appearance is just around the corner, set to take place on their home turf in October this year.
Throughout the years, India has seen cricketing legends shine in the World Cup spotlight, yet there remains a group of gifted individuals who, despite contributing a lot to the team, missed out on donning the Indian colours during the global event.
Let’s take a look at the top three players who have been legends for India but never played in the World Cup for the country:
1. Ishant Sharma
Front and center, it’s Ishant Sharma. Storming onto the ODI scene in 2007, the Delhi pacer wreaked havoc with his pace and swing, but the World Cup stage remained beyond his reach for India. He came close in 2015, but an untimely injury dashed his dreams and left him on the sidelines for the World Cup party.
Ishan Sharma ODI Career Stats
| Matches | Wickets | Econ. | Avg | BBI | 4W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 115 | 5.72 | 31.0 | 4/34 | 6 |
2. VVS Laxman
Coming in second is VVS Laxman, a true Test match wizard. He ruled the longest format of the game with more than a century of appearances [130], but the 50-overs format was not his forte. Even after taking on 86 ODIs, the World Cup call-up remained a tough nut to crack for him.
He did come very close to making the World Cup squad back in 2003, however, Dinesh Mongia was preferred over him at the last moment.
VVS Laxman ODI Career Stats
| Matches | Runs | Avg | SR | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86 | 2338 | 30.8 | 71.2 | 131 |
3. Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan, the mid-2000s left-arm wizard, was India’s secret weapon back then. Yet, the World Cup never handed him the mic. He did manage a gig at the T20 World Cup, but the true 50-overs extravaganza remained elusive for him.
Irfan Pathan ODI Career Stats
| Matches | Wickets | Econ. | Avg | BBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 173 | 5.26 | 29.7 | 3/16 |
In addition to the leading three who couldn’t grace the World Cup for India, there’s another group including RP Singh, Amit Mishra, Parthiv Patel, and Praveen Kumar. Despite their commendable roles in the Indian team, the World Cup stage remained out of reach.
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