5 Indian ODI specialists who failed miserably in Tests

Test Cricket is the ultimate form of cricket. The scariest part for the game in today's generation is that the batsmanship in Test Cricket has taken a slump due to the emergence of shorter versions of the game.

One of the biggest challenges for modern cricketer is to adapt to the different format and excel in each of it. One who does not manage to do this is coined as a ''specialist". India is a land where great batsmen are born & breaded, and a batsman emerging from India is expected to excel in all formats of the game because of the high standards set by great players like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and many others.

But that is not the case always as not everyone has the abilities to leave the ball around the off-stump line in swinging conditions, not all can adjust to bounce of the pitch, and nor do all have the patience to wait for the bad ball and dispatch it.

Here are 5 such players who fall under this category.

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#5 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj is one among the many great all-rounders that Indian cricket has ever seen. He has played some spectacular innings for India with the bat and made some key contributions with the ball, but all of these efforts came while Yuvraj was wearing a blue jersey. Yuvraj is the most decorated ODI batsman for India but failed to become even a decent Test batsman.

In his illustrious career, Yuvraj was given numerous opportunities to represent India in the Test arena but always failed to capture the spot. India has been in dire need of good all-rounder since Kapil Dev's retirement, Yuvraj could have been the guy to replace, but he failed to do so. In the 40 matches that he has played Yuvraj only made 1900 runs at an average of just above 33.

#4 Ajay Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja had all the attributes to be a great Test player but never really clicked in the longer format of the game. He was a great fielder and even captained the team once in a while in the absence of Mohammad Azharuddin.

In the ODI format, he had a very good record scoring 5339 runs in 196 games at a decent average of over 37 and used to score at a brisk pace. His innings of 45 off 25 deliveries in the 1996 World cup quarterfinals against Pakistan is still etched in the memory of many fans. He was a great fielder inside the 30-yard circle and can bowl a bit when required.

In the limited chances that he got to play for India in Test Cricket, he failed to capitalize on the opportunities provided as he scored a paltry 576 runs in 15 games at a disappointing average of 26.

#3 Shikhar Dhawan

The newest addition to this list of ODI specialist who has failed to perform in Test Cricket is none other than "Gabbar" Shikhar Dhawan. Shikhar redemption in Cricket started off with a brisk 187 against Australia at Chandigarh. Indian fans at that time thought India has found the next Virender Sehwag. The flamboyance and the energy that Shikhar showed in that innings was also the downfall of his Test career.

Shikhar is one of the best openers that India has had in limited overs of the game. But as a Test batsman, he has failed to adjust to different conditions, and his inability to play the moving ball has been the kryptonite. Outside Asia, Shikhar has played 22 Test matches and has scored only 612 runs with an average of 27.81.

#2 Rohit Sharma

The look of Rohit Sharma on this photo has also been the look of every Indian fan when Rohit fails to perform in the Test Cricket. For a man who possesses this much talent must be on the road to break Sachin Tendulkar's records. There have been no doubts in the talent of Rohit Sharma, but for some reasons, Rohit has failed to live up to his caliber in Test format.

Rohit has scored 1479 runs in the 25 matches that he has played with an average of just under 40. The numbers might look convincing to earn him a spot, but most of them have come under Indian conditions. Rohit is just an image of himself when India travel overseas. Promoting Rohit from middle order to opening was the revival of Rohit' career in ODIs maybe, Kohli and selectors need to do the same in Test cricket as well.

#1 Suresh Raina

At a tender age of 18, Suresh Raina made his ODI debut, and five years later the Southpaw from Uttar Pradesh made his Test debut with riveting test ton against Sri Lanka in the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, but what followed next was an absolute disaster.

Raina's inability to play the moving ball and the inability to handle the bounce came back to haunt to the rest of his Test career. While Raina managed to survive even with these drawbacks in the limited overs format, Test Cricket is a different ball game where one has to bring their A-game to even survive at times.

Raina has scored only scored 768 runs in the 31 innings that he has played with an average of 26.48.