World Cup: Players who won the title without playing a single game

1983

Sunil Valson

Sunil Valson: the only cricketer to win a world cup medal without playing an international match!

India's Sunil Valson holds one of the most head-spinning records in cricket. He is the only cricketer to have won a World Cup but to not have played a single international cricket match!

Yes, you read that right. A left-handed medium pacer from Andhra Pradesh, Valson was selected to be a part of India's 1983 World Cup squad based on his record in first-class cricket. But, he ended up being the only member of the 14 member squad who did not feature in any of the team's eight matches.

Not just this, even in the five years that he continued to play cricket post the glorious triumph of 1983, Valson never made it to the final XI of an Indian Test or ODI team. Luck could not have shone brighter on Valson.