Cricket World Cup History : 2 World Cup winners who never played a World Cup match 

ICC Cricket World Cup is the biggest cricketing quadrennial event in the world. It is every upcoming cricketer's dream to represent his nation at this tournament because the entire cricket universe follows the World Cup.

The teams pick 15 of the best cricketers of their country in their respective World Cup squads but as we all know only 11 players play a cricket match, with the other 4 players used as reserves. On almost every occasion the teams (especially the stronger teams) tend to use their entire squad of 15 so as to keep the other players fit and fresh.

However, there have been 2 instances in the history of the Cricket World Cup that a player did not play a single match in the World Cup got his hands on the World Cup trophy.

(Please Note - The ICC World Cup winners who have played zero World Cup matches till date are considered for this list.)

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#1 Upul Chandana - Sri Lanka

Upul Chandana of Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan leg-spinner Upul Chandana was a part of the Sri Lankan team which won the ICC World Cup in 1996. He had made his ODI debut in 1994 and his impressive performances earned him a place in the 15-man squad.

However, the Sri Lankan team never included in their playing XI in World Cup matches. Chandana could not make it to the Sri Lankan World Cup squad after 1996 which made him the first ever Cricket World Cup winner who never played a single match in the World Cup.

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#2 Nathan Hauritz - Australia

Nathan Hauritz, the Australian off-spinner

Australia had won 3 consecutive ICC World Cups from 1999 to 2007. But one of their members of the 2003 World Cup winning squad, Nathan Hauritz, never got a chance to play a World Cup match despite being included in the 15-man squad.

Hauritz was only 21 years old back then and he had not made his test debut yet. He was picked as Shane Warne's replacement. Perhaps, his inexperience may not have allowed him to make his World Cup debut in 2003 but till the 2011 World Cup, he had cemented his position in the ODI team. Unfortunately for Hauritz, he suffered an injury at the last-minute which forced the Australians to replace him with Jason Krejza.

The offie was not considered for the 2015 World Cup and in 2016, he announced his retirement from competitive cricket.

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