5 promising Indian cricketers whose career faded away

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

It is not very often that a player plays his last Test at the age of 20. Especially if he became the youngest Indian Test cricketer (at the time) when he made his debut at the age of 17 against West Indies. But that is exactly what happened with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.

Before he became a commentator, he was regarded as a prodigiously talented leg spinner, as is evident from the fact that he made his Ranji debut at the age of 16 and picked up 7/28 as well before playing for India at the age of just 17. Man of the Match-winning performance against England at Mumbai in 1984 justified the selector's decision to pick him.

Although he played just 9 Tests, he finished with a Man of the Series award for his 23 wickets in the England series and was also an integral part of the Indian side that won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985. But that was as good as it for the leggie, as he was a shadow of himself in the 1987 World Cup and within four years of Test debut, he had played his last international match for India at the age of 21.