Since India played their first-ever Test match in 1932, several top players have represented this Team. Initially, players like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar devoted their souls to this game. After that, players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli managed to continue such a legacy.
However, it has been found that despite playing their heart out for the country, there are several players who did not receive enough credit for their services. Their records may look as good as some other legends. But, still, they got lost behind the curtains throughout their careers.
Here are the five most under-rated Indian cricketers of all time
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar came to the Indian Cricket team when he reaped through the Pakistan batting line-up with his swing bowling ability in his debut match. Since then, he represented team India in 201 International matches where he picked up 262 wickets.
He always performed as per the team’s needs in whatever situation he was put into. Once, he was the go-to bowler for the Indian captains at various stages of matches.
In the last few years, he has lost track due to consecutive injury concerns. The emergence of new fast bowlers reduced his chances in recent times.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is another bowler who had a long career for Team India from 2007 to 2021. His spells against the mighty Australian lineup were the talk of the town.
In 199 International matches, he took 434 wickets. He failed to capitalize on his opportunities while bowling on the Indian pitches. Hence, he faded away from the setup, and finally, he revived his Test career at the business end.
In the last few years of his career, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Ravichandran Ashwin became the main bowlers for the National Team. Still, he managed to show his skills in whatever opportunities he got.
Irfan Pathan
This left-arm fast bowler was renowned for his swing deliveries when he debuted for Team India against Australia. Not only with the ball, he was also good with the bat, as he played some special cameos in crunchy situations.
He represented Team India in 173 International matches as he scored 2821 runs with a high score of 102. He also picked up 301 wickets during that timeline.
During the Team India’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2007, Irfan Pathan was instrumental throughout that tournament. But, over the years, he got overshadowed, and finally, he retired from all types of cricket in 2020.
Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra is another speedster who did not receive the credit due to him during his 18-year-long career (1999-2017). Within this timeline, he played 164 International matches and picked up 235 wickets.
In the 2003 50-over World Cup, his venomous spell of 6/23 against England was the main highlight of his career. Even, at the business end of his career, he managed to make a comeback to the T20Is.
However, injuries at the peak of his career held him back from being the main spearhead for Team India. After that, he failed display the best of his skills.
Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer was known as a gritty opening batter as he scored more than 20 thousand runs in his domestic career over the years. He represented Team India in 33 matches where he scored 1954 runs.
But, despite making a debut in 2000, he continued his career up to 2008 only. He hardly got any consistent chance during his time and that cost him the pace in the squad.
Even, after retiring from team India, he managed to score a huge amount of runs for his domestic sides with ease.