From Sarfaraz Khan To Abhimanyu Easwaran | Top 10 Unluckiest Cricketers
Sarfaraz Khan [Source: Twitter]
Apart from skills, dedication, and temperament, luck plays a crucial role in any sporting personalities life. From being selected to being handed out numerous opportunities, to performances on the field, luck is omnipresent everywhere for a cricketer.
However, several times due to uncontrollable circumstances, a player despite being in rich form, or suffering a dip after stellar performances, finds the rough side of lady luck and continues to wait for the right or another chance to prove their worth, which either arrive too late or never does.
In this list, we look at the top 10 unluckiest cricketers, who found themselves on the wrong side of luck:
Sarfaraz Khan
Prodigies in Indian cricket are plenty, however, not many have been able to live up to expectations. Mumbai's Sarfaraz Khan is one such player, who has been creating waves in the domestic circuit for years and still struggles to find a place in India's setup.
An under-19 star, Sarfaraz has been amongst the leading run-getter in Ranji Trophy over the past few years, slamming 928, 982, and 556 runs in the 2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23 editions, respectively.
The batter, who faces criticism for his weight, has amassed 3,505 runs in 37 First-Class, at a staggering average of 79.65, and has struck 13 centuries and nine half-centuries.
In 26 List-A matches and 88 T20s, the Delhi Capitals batter has scored 469 and 1,124 runs, respectively.
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Abhimanyu Easwaran [Source: Twitter]
Much like Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran finds himself out of contention for a place in the Indian setup, despite stockpiling runs in domestic cricket. The Bengal batter travelled with India's Test side to England and Bangladesh but did not play any games.
Easwaran was expected to be on the flight to West Indies for India's two-Test series next month, but will instead be out in the field playing Duleep Trophy leading East Zone.
Since 2013, Easwaran, 27, has scored 6,557 First-Class, 3,376 List-A, and 728 T20 runs for Bengal, respectively.
Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson [Source: Twitter]
Another player, who finds himself on the other side of luck is wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson. The Rajasthan Royals captain has been a terrific scorer as a domestic cricketer, however, fails to emulate his performances on the international stage.
In his sporadic career, Samson has showcased glimpses of his brilliance with the bat, apart from being a gun fielder. With Rishabh Pant's unfortunate injury, Samson made his way into the Indian side but got injured, and failed to impress selectors.
In 11 ODIs and 17 T20Is between 2015-2021, the 28-year-old has scored 631 white-balls runs combined, with three fifties.
The upcoming tour of the West Indies will be crucial for Samson's future in the Indian side.
Stuart MacGill
Growing under the shadows of Shane Warne is not easy, and Australia's Stuart MacGill bore the brunt of it mostly. Despite being a year younger than Warne, MacGill entered the international arena in 1998 and played until 2008.
Used primarily on spin-friendly conditions, MacGill outperformed Warne, when both leg-spinners played together; scalping 82 wickets as compared to 74. However, Warne starred for Australia in big matches, and become the side's numero uno spinner, leading to the axing of MacGill.
In the limited chances that the leg-spinner got, MacGill claimed 208 Test wickets in 44 matches and featured in only three ODIs, picking up six wickets.
Overall, in 184 First-Class matches, 107 List-A, and 13 T20s, the 52-year-old seized 980 wickets combined.
Karun Nair
Karun Nair [Source: Twitter]
India's second-only Test Triple Centurian, Karun Nair's exclusion from the Indian side remains a mystery. Nair slammed a memorable 303* in his third Test debut against England in 2016 and was unceremoniously dropped from India's next red-ball match.
Nair failed to perform in his next five innings and found himself out of India's Test side, never to be recalled despite other openers failing.
In six Tests between 2016 and 2017, the Karnataka batter managed to score 374 runs, and also appeared in two ODIs, scoring 46 runs.
Overall, in 85 First-Class matches for Karnataka, Nair has scored 5,922 runs, apart from 2,119 and 2,989 List-A and T20s runs, respectively.
Manoj Tiwary
One of Bengal's most consistent performers, Manoj Tiwary, failed to make it big on the international scene. Tiwary, who failed in his ODI debut, waited for many years to get another chance.
A century against West Indies in 2011, did give Tiwary a lifeline, but his place in the XI remained unsure, despite being in India's Asia Cup 2012 side. The middle-order batter played sporadically, before playing his final ODI for India against Zimbabwe in 2015.
Between 2008-2015, Tiwary played just 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is for India, amassing 302 runs with one 50-overs hundred, and remains active in domestic cricket even today.
In 141 First-Class matches, the 37-year-old has scored 9,908 runs, 5,581 runs in 169 List-A games, and 3,436 runs in 183 T20s.
Naman Ojha
Like several others, Naman Ojha played in an era, where MS Dhoni reined supreme for India as wicket-keeper batter. Touted as one of the best glovemen in the country, Ojha played just one Test, one ODI, and two T20Is for India, where his limited-overs outings came before Dhoni cemented his place.
Ojha slammed runs for India A, which includes a double hundred and twin centuries against Australia A in 2014. However, Wriddhiman Saha got preference over Ojha with age not being on the latter's side.
In 146 First-Class and 143 List-A matches for Madhya Pradesh, the Rajasthan Royals batter amassed 14,031 runs while scoring 2,972 runs in 182 T20 at a strike rate of 119.
Rajinder Goel
Harshal Patel seen with the late Rajinder Goel [Source: Twitter]
A forgotten domestic stalwart, Rajinder Goel never managed to play for India, despite his brilliant Ranji Trophy record. In an era, where Bishan Singh Bedi ruled the charts as India's lone left-arm spinner, Goel gained a reputation for himself in domestic cricket playing for teams like Haryana, Punjab, and Delhi.
Between 1958 and 1985, Goel scalped 750 First-Class wickets in 157 matches, out of which 639 came in Ranji Trophy; a record that still stands today. In eight List-A matches, the late cricketer claimed just 14 scalps.
Such was Goel's popularity, that a decoit named Bukha Singh Yadav, congratulated the spinner for 600 Ranji wickets via a letter from Gwalior jail.
Goel did play an unofficial Test against Ceylon in 1964-65.
Amol Muzumdar
Amol Muzumdar [Source: Twitter]
One of the greatest Ranji Trophy players, Mumbai's Amol Muzumdar strangely never played for India. Muzumdar, who became the backbone of Mumbai's batting churned out runs for fun in domestic cricket.
With India's Test batting consisting of the 'Fab Four' penetrating the middle-order was an impossible task for any cricketer, even of the caliber of Muzumdar, who represented Mumbai for 15 years between 1993-2009
In 171 First-Class matches, the 48-year-old scored 11,167 runs, scored 30 tons, and 60 fifties, which includes a 260 against Haryana in his Ranji debut.
Devendra Bundela
A Ranji Trophy legend, Madhya Pradesh's Devendra Bundela despite being an exquisite run-getter, failed to represent India in any format. Bundela, who made his First-Class debut in 1995-96, went on to become the most capped player in Ranji Trophy history; featuring in 164 matches.
Bundela also played for the Whitehaven Cricket Club in Cumbria in 2001-03 seasons. In a career that spanned 23-long-years, the 46-year-old accumulated 10,004 FC runs, to finish as the third-highest run-getter in Ranji history.
Bundela scored 2,299 List-A and 110 T20 runs as well.
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