3 Poorly Handled Indian Cricketers Who Could Have Been Greats

Ambati Rayudu is India's biggest 'what if' case [x] Ambati Rayudu is India's biggest 'what if' case [x]

Not every talented cricketer goes onto become an all-time great. Some get lost in darkness, sometimes because of their own deeds, and sometimes because of how poorly the management handled them.

In Indian cricket, there have been so many players, who had the potential to be one of the best, but were handled poorly and as a result, they couldn't fulfil their potential.

In this article, we have jotted down 3 such Indian players, who couldn't reach the top of the Mount Rushmore due to management's fault.

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu was supposed to be India's answer to the number 4 spot in ODIs, but one bad mistake from the management and they ruined it all. Once Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were out of the ODI setup, India tried numerous options at number 4, and their best bet came to be Rayudu, who was gritty, and had the ability to play according to the situation.

Despite playing 55 ODI matches, and having an average of 47.05, the star batter was surprisingly omitted from India's World Cup 2019 squad. In his place, Vijay Shankar was selected, citing the '3-D' reason. What could have been a stellar career, turned out to be big 'what if' for the Indian fans.

Irfan Pathan

During the infamous India tour of Australia in 2003, there was a young speedster who grabbed everyone's attention, and that young bowler was Irfan Pathan. He was touted to be the next Wasim Akram, so much so that even the great Akram praised his bowling.

A career that started on the front-foot, took a back-step when repeated injuries hampered his career. Moreover, the then India head coach, Greg Chappell wanted Pathan to be an all-rounder. Hence, he started focusing more on his batting, and as a result, Pathan suffered.

His speed dropped considerably, and in the process of becoming an all-rounder, he was left to be just another cricketer in the Indian dressing room.

Unmukt Chand

Touted as the next 'Golden Boy' of Indian cricket, Unmukt Chand started his career by winning the Under-19 World Cup as the captain. Post the World Cup win, he even featured in advertisements with the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, but the downfall started when he featured for the Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2013.

He was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Brett Lee, and somehow his confidence shattered. Despite being talented, he was constantly being ignored by the selectors, and instead of supporting a talented youngster, the BCCI chose to ignore him, which prompted him to move to USA for better future.