5 limited-overs regulars who found it tough to gain a spot in the Test team
Cricket is a sport in which it is quite difficult for a player to establish his name as one of the finest players at the international level while playing for their country. In the past, some players managed to do so and some failed in it. In the long history of the gentlemen’s game, many big players came, played and retired. Many of them still hold a special place in the hearts of the fans like Sir Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kapil Dev.
It is well known that cricket is played in three respective formats in international cricket with the likes of ODIs, T20Is and Tests. So, it is not compulsory that a player who is perfect in the limited-overs format should perform well in the longer format as well and vice-versa. Also, it is a proven fact and we are here to tell everyone about the top five limited-overs regulars who found it tough to gain a spot on in Test team.
Here’s the list:
1. Andre Russell
Andre Russell, the destructive middle-order batsman is known for his submissive hitting in the limited-overs format. There is no doubt over the fact that he is a nightmare for any talented bowler across the globe on his best days. The 32-year-old has earned his reputation as one of the best hard-hitting batsmen in modern-era.
He has reaped out lots of success on the back of his all-round performances in the ODIs and T20Is. However, he has not been able to achieve much in Tests cricket for West Indies. The seaming all-rounder got one of the worst debuts in the history, who scored only 2 runs with the bat and conceded 104 runs with the ball against Sri Lanka back in 2010.
It’s been 10 years since he last donned whites for West Indies and still waiting for his call-up from the national selectors. One major problem with Russell is his injury-prone body that restricts the selectors from picking him up in Tests that can go against the team during a five-day game. Let’s see if he gets chance to play Test once again for West Indies or he will end up with consolation of one game in his Test career.
2. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma, the dashing Indian opener is rated as one of the best openers of modern-era. He has established himself as one of the impactful batsmen for Team India in the limited-overs. However, he failed to perform with the same impact in the longer format during the first seven years of his Test career.
He got off to a memorable start to his Test career and smacked two back to back tons in his first couple of games. But, after a sudden dip in his form with the bat forced the selectors to drop him and try other available options as his replacement. He was given enough chances to prove his worth in the longer format by the selectors throughout his career.
He took almost 7 seven years to establish his place in India’s Test team. In the year 2019, he was picked in the Test squad as an opener for the series against South Africa. This emerged as a breakthrough moment for the 33-year-old, who smacked tons in the respective innings of the first Test followed by his double ton in the third and final game of the series against Proteas. Now, it will be interesting to watch if he can continue with the same or not.
3. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh, the former Indian spin all-rounder name doesn’t need any introduction. He bid adieu to international cricket as one of the finest players produced by Indian cricket, who dominated bowlers in ODIs and T20Is on the back of his brilliant batting.
On the other hand, in Tests, he used to struggle a lot in order to score runs with his willow. And, this story continued until the end of his career. He made his Test debut back in 2003 and scored his ton in his maiden innings. After that, he failed to continue with the same form and the southpaw was soon dropped after two-match Test series against Australia in 2004.
It took him ten months to get picked in the Test squad for Zimbabwe Test series. Surprisingly, he failed to perform in that as well. In 17 years, he was given enough chances to prove his worth but he failed on the majority of the occasions.
In the end, the fans also came to know that Yuvraj Singh was not a player made for Tests, who played only 40 games in his 17 years of an international career. Meanwhile, in ODIs, he donned national jersey in more than 300 games followed by his 58 appearances in the shorter format.
4. Shahid Afridi
‘Boom Boom’ Afridi is rated as one of the finest spin all-rounders of the limited-over formatting the history of international cricket. But, it was his unpredictability to perform well in the longer format kept him outside the national side in the longer format.
The former player was known for his submissive hitting, who used to always play in the top -gear irrespective of the match conditions and formats. And, the selectors might have thought that his game was more suitable for ODIs and T20Is instead of Tests.
However, statistically, it is an unacceptable fact that a player with 400 ODI caps played only 27 Tests for his country. Even his batting average was also comparatively better than that in the 50-over format. He used to score runs at an average of 36.5 in Tests whereas in ODIs he had an average of 23.6. Moreover, his bowling average in both formats was almost similar. Yet, he ended his illustrious career as one of the finest allrounders in the ODIs and T20Is but not in Tests.
5. Eoin Morgan
In 2019, Eoin Morgan led England to their maiden World Cup trophy. He always looked instrumental with the bat for the three lions in ODIs and T20Is. The left-handed batsman has always played a key role in the middle-order with the bat and led his team to dome memorable victories in the past.
The 33-year-old has so far played 236 ODIs and 89 T20Is in which he has scored more than 8000 international runs with the help of 13 tons and 59 half-centuries. Moreover, he holds several records next to his name in the limited-over format. But, coming onto his Test career, it shows a different Morgan, who poorly flopped as a batsman for England. In 16 Tests, he mustered only 700 runs at an average of 30.4 and that doesn’t justify his talent.
He tried his best t0 perform in the most difficult format of the game. But, he never got success in it. In 2018, he was dropped from the Test squad following the tour against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and since then he is consistently playing for England in T20Is and ODI. In an interview given to ESPNcricinfo, Morgan himself had accepted the fact that he wasn’t good enough player to get along well with the longer format.
source https://www.crictracker.com/5-limited-overs-regulars-who-found-it-tough-to-gain-a-spot-in-the-test-team/
Comments
Post a Comment