Booking a place in the Indian cricket team is not an easy ask in a country of over 1.4 billion where cricket is the primary sport. India is a talent hub for cricket but getting a chance to represent the country is achieved by just a few. Players have to grind for years in domestic cricket and perform consistently to get noticed and get called up if they are lucky. But that’s not the case with every cricket as in recent times, we have seen how some cricketers’ selection is rushed to the senior team, even when they have little to no experience in domestic cricket. Let’s look at the cricketers who were prematurely called up to the Indian team.
Here are four players whose selection was rushed to the Indian team:
1. Mayank Markande
Mayank Markande came into the limelight after a wonderful show in his debut game in the IPL 2018 against CSK where he dismissed MS Dhoni. He was a top performer for MI in that season. Then the leg spinner was given a chance to represent India just after one IPL season. Markande made his debut against Australia in a T20I game in 2019. He went wicketless and was never given a chance in the Indian team again.
2. Chetan Sakariya
Chetan Sakariya’s story is inspirational as he came from humble beginnings and left a mark in his debut season. The left-arm bowler came into the limelight in the first phase of the IPL 2021 for the Rajasthan Royals where he impressed everyone with his variations. He was fast-tracked to the main team for the white-ball tour to Sri Lanka after just 7 IPL games and a handful of domestic games. As expected, Sakariya did not leave a lasting impact with his performances on the international stage and has never been considered for selection ever since.
3. Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer took the second phase of the IPL 2021 by storm as he looked to be the piece of the puzzle that KKR were missing. He played a crucial role in KKR’s runner-up campaign. Iyer also looked like a good prospect who can replace Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder that India was looking for. He was included in the T20 series against New Zealand and was given a long run in India’s white-ball home season in 2021-22. But Iyer failed to avail his opportunities with both bat and ball and a poor IPL 2022 further dented his confidence. Iyer is now nowhere near the reckoning for the Indian team.
4. Umran Malik
Umran Malik burst onto the scene with his express pace in the second half of the IPL. He grabbed the limelight by consistently clocking over 150 kmph and threatening batters with his pace. After a successful IPL 2022 for SRH, experts launched a campaign to fast-track Malik into the senior side even though he had played just a handful of domestic games.
But selectors succumbed to the pressure and selected Malik for the T20 series after the IPL. Malik was handed his debut against Ireland and even played a T20 against England in July. But the youngster received a hammering in International cricket. In three games, he took just 2 wickets at a poor economy of 12. He was not included in India’s tour to West Indies and is unlikely to return to the Indian squad anytime soon.
