5 Indian team rejects who have been performing well in this year's Ranji Trophy

The 2016/17 Ranji Trophy is well underway with the 4^th round of matches currently in progress. The season has already seen some fine individual performances with both bat and ball, most of them by youngsters who are vying for a place in the national team.

However, a few of the experienced campaigners, too, have delivered for their respective teams and have given the youth brigade some stiff competition. Among these are players who have represented Team India in international cricket but are currently not in the scheme of things in either format.

Let’s take a look at 5 Indian team rejects who have been performing well in this year's Ranji Trophy:

#5 Pankaj Singh

Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh made his international debut back in 2010 when he played for India in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2010. After failing to make any impact, though, Pankaj did not make any further appearances in the national team until their tour to England in 2014 where he made his Test debut.

The big man had a disastrous time in the 2 Tests that he played as he could manage just 2 wickets against the formidable English batting line-up. Since then, the 31-year old has never been considered by the selectors although he has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket.

Pankaj Singh has been particularly good in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season as he is the highest wicket-taker overall with 22 scalps in 6 innings at an average of 16. His best match figures of 9 for 65 this year have come in an innings victory for Rajasthan over Assam.

#4 Abhinav Mukund

The left-hander played 5 Tests for India in the year 2011

Tamil Nadu opening batsman Abhinav Mukund represented India in 5 Tests, all of them coming in the year 2011. He made his debut in a Test against West Indies at Kingston but did not make much of an impact with scores of 11 and 25.

However, scores of 48 and 62 in the next two Tests against the same opposition ensured that Mukund retained his place in the side for the subsequent tour to England. The southpaw started off the 4-match Test series well with 49 in his first outing but could manage just 15 runs in his next three.

Abhinav Mukund has not made it to the Indian team ever since but continues to shine in domestic cricket. The 26-year old has plundered 338 runs in just 6 innings in the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy at a 50-plus average including 2 consecutive centuries in his last two games.

#3 Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma last featured in the home ODI series against South Africa last year

Until almost a year ago, Mohit Sharma used to be a regular for India in limited-overs cricket and was one of skipper MS Dhoni’s trusted soldiers. The Haryana bowler has played 26 ODIs and 8 T20Is since making his international debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2013.

Mohit performed quite well on Australian pitches during the 2015 ICC World Cup and claimed 13 wickets in 8 matches at an average of just over 24. However, his performances hit a low in the ODI series against South Africa at home last year and he has not made it back to the Indian team ever since.

The medium-pacer, though, looks to be in terrific form at the moment as he has contributed heavily to Haryana’s success in the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy so far. In the 4 matches that he has played so far, Mohit Sharma has picked up 16 wickets at an average of 13.56 with best innings figures of 5 for 26.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik was last seen during the 2014 Asia Cup played in Bangladesh

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has received his chances at the international level but he has never been able to cement his place in the team. Having made his debut in an ODI back in 2004, Karthik has played 23 Tests, 71 ODIs and 9 T20Is for Team India so far.

He is remembered best for his exploits during India’s memorable series win over England back in 2007. On seaming conditions, Karthik opened the innings on a regular basis and scored 263 runs in 6 innings with 3 half-centuries thereby emerging as his team’s highest run-scorer in the series.

However, his inability to perform well consistently coupled with MS Dhoni’s constant presence in the role of wicketkeeper-batsman have kept Dinesh Karthik out of contention for the Indian team.

But he has been a star batsman for his state side of Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy and has been their highest run-scorer this season. In 6 innings thus far, Karthik has scored 375 runs at a remarkable average of 62.50 along with a top score of 163 which contributed to a 174-run victory over Railways.

#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh last featured in an Indian team during the 2016 ICC World T20

Yuvraj Singh is a name which needs no recognition, especially when talking about Indian cricket over the past couple of decades. The star cricketer has won many a match for India and played a stellar role in World Cup successes for them in both limited-overs formats.

His feat of 6 sixes in 6 balls against England in the 2007 World Twenty20 continues to be one of the most cherished moments in Indian cricketing history. However, that is just one out of the several great things that Yuvraj has done in his tenure of 16 years as an international cricketer.

At present, though, things have reached a stage when Yuvraj Singh finds himself out of the national team across all three formats. Although he had been included in the T20I side early this year and played the Asia Cup as well as the World T20, the left-hander was not picked for the T20I series against West Indies in the US.

But Yuvraj looks determined to earn his spot in the Indian team and has shown exemplary form for Punjab in the 2016/17 Ranji Trophy. The hard-hitting batsman has a tally of 506 runs in 7 innings so far at a monumental average of 84.33 and two brilliant centuries to his name.