5 unluckiest Indian cricketers in the last decade

Karun Nair scored a triple century against England
Karun Nair scored a triple century against England

#2 Parthiv Patel

Ad
Parthiv Patel has not fulfilled the promise he showed as a 17-year-old
Parthiv Patel has not fulfilled the promise he showed as a 17-year-old

Parthiv Patel made his debut for India as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, before the debuts of MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik. But after a few failures, he found himself out of the team as selectors favoured the long-haired destructive wicket-keeper.

Ad

Since then, he has been a colossus in domestic competitions, and led his state Gujarat to the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy, even scoring 143 in historic fourth-innings chase. After this Wriddhiman Saha suffered an injury, Parthiv was called up to the Test team in England and although he scored a fifty, he found himself on the fringes of the side once again.

Parthiv himself has stated that he should not be considered unlucky to be born in the same era as MS Dhoni, as he got his opportunity and didn't take it. While this may be true, he is certainly unlucky to have not got more chances in the previous decade as a specialist batsman at least.

Ad

#1 Pankaj Singh

Pankaj Singh appeals in vain as a plumb Ian Bell LBW decision is not given
Pankaj Singh appeals in vain as a plumb Ian Bell LBW decision is not given

In India's tour of England in 2014 that is majorly remembered for Virat Kohli's nightmare series, Pankaj Singh was offered a chance as a replacement for the injured Ishant Sharma - a chance that was the fruit of years of toil in first-class cricket. However, it just wasn't to be for the burly pacer.

Ad

Dropped catches and shocking umpiring decisions ensured that the Rajasthan fast bowler didn't pick up any wickets on debut, and he went on to play only one more Test match before falling off the selectors' radar.

In 2018, Pankaj Singh became the first quick to pick up 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, a feat that has since been equalled by Karnataka's Vinay Kumar. He will go down as one of the unluckiest cricketers to have ever played for India.

Ad

Also Read: 3 most prolific opening combinations for India in Test cricket

Get real-time updates on IPL 2025, including live scores, match schedules, points table & squad details for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT & PBKS

Quick Links

Edited by Atharva Papnoi
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications