The Unlucky XI: A team of ODI stars born in the wrong era

#2 Bowlers

Amit Mishra has had to compete with different generations of prolific spinners

When Amit Mishra made his List A debut as a teenager in the 2001/02 season, the iconic Anil Kumble was at the peak of his prowess. The spin mantle then passed on to Harbhajan Singh and then to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Despite his propensity to generate enticing flight and turn, Mishra only came into the equation in case of injuries. 64 wickets at a commendable average of 23.60 vindicates his white-ball skills. With the emergence of younger alternatives, the veteran is unlikely to add to his 36 ODI caps.

A dream Test debut, in which he picked up 11 wickets, earmarked Mohammad Zahid as the next Pakistani pace sensation during the 1996/97 international season. However, the presence of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar meant that opportunities were few and far in between. The bustling pacer played the last of his 11 ODIs in 2002.

In an ODI career spanning from 2009 to 2011, Doug Bollinger played 39 matches and collected 62 scalps at an excellent average of 23.90 and solid economy-rate of 4.57. While the ubiquitous presence of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee delayed his debut, the left-arm seamer later struggled to stave off the emergence of younger quicks like Mitchell Starc. Bollinger announced his retirement from all forms of cricket earlier this year.

During the 1980s, the Caribbean region boasted of countless quality speedsters who themselves could have filled almost every other international team as well. At first glance, Tony Gray's career numbers make for astonishing reading. The Trinidadian picked up 44 wickets from 25 ODIs at an average of 18.97 and economy-rate of 3.94. Gray had the misfortune of competing with the likes of Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose among others.