5 Cricketers who did not get enough chances under Virat Kohli

India has seen many bright individuals, who have gone to perform their best to stake their claim to represent the country for longer durations. However, the pitch conditions, team composition, and tactics of the captain often have a final say on the place of a certain player in the XI.

Under Virat Kohli’s leadership, the Indian team scaled the Test summit and were terrific in their performances in the limited-overs format as well. But there were few players, who did not get a longer rope in the Indian team under Virat Kohli, despite producing impressive performances.

5 Cricketers who did not get enough chances under Virat Kohli

1. Karun Nair

The talented top-order batter, Karun Nair has been one of the finest products of domestic cricket. With a solid technique and stable composure, Nair was fast-tracked into the Indian team in 2016. He featured in two ODIs against Zimbabwe and scored 46 runs.

Later in the same year, Nair played his debut Test match against England. The third red ball game against the Three Lions witnessed him scoring a terrific 303* and helping India to win by an innings & 75 runs.

However, the 30-year-old could not contribute in a hefty fashion in his next three subsequent Tests and was dropped from the XI. Since, then he has been waiting for his due chances in the international circuit, despite being consistent for Karnataka in first-class cricket.

2. Amit Mishra

The skilful spinner, Amit Mishra was a huge success in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, he could not get enough chances under his belt on the international stage. Mishra made his debut in 2003, and last donned an Indian jersey in 2017.

Although the career span is quite large, the 39-year-old was a part of only 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is, while taking a total of 156 wickets. The emergence of young spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav also cut short his career.

Mishra took six wickets in four appearances in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals. In the 2022 mega auction, the leg-spinner remained unsold.

3. Ambati Rayudu

Often known for his fighting spirit, Ambati Rayudu earned a national call-up after heroics in the middle-order for Mumbai Indians in IPL. He scored an unbeaten 63 on his ODI debut against Zimbabwe. He then was a part of the 2015 World Cup squad as well.

In the 2015 tour to Zimbabwe, Rayudu scored 165 runs in two ODIs, but could not find a place on the senior team. He again scored heavily in the 2016 tour to the same country as well with 103 runs in two innings. The 37-year-old was again ignored and finally was called back in 2018.

Despite being one of the consistent batters after his return, Rayudu could not make it to the Indian squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup. He is currently playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL and will ply his trade for Baroda from 2022 in domestic cricket.

4. Mohit Sharma

The right-arm pacer Mohit Sharma was a breakthrough success in the early part of the last decade. After being a strike bowler for Haryana in Ranji Trophy, Sharma scalped 20 wickets in 15 appearances for CSK in the 2013 season. He gradually earned a place on the Indian team for the tour to Zimbabwe.

Sharma’s figures of 2/26 in 10 overs earned him a man of the match award in his debut game against Zimbabwe. In eight matches of the 2015 World Cup, he grabbed eyeballs by picking 13 wickets for India.

However, he started to leak runs at an expensive rate until the end of 2015 and lost his place in the Indian team. Sharma still proved to be successful in the subsequent editions of IPL but did not earn a call-up again.

5. Suresh Raina

One of the finest southpaws, Suresh Raina fell prey to the short ball tactics used by the opposition. In fact, Raina was the first Indian player to hit centuries across all formats of the game. He was a permanent member of the Indian team under MS Dhoni and scored 284 runs in eight innings of the 2015 World Cup.

However, Raina’s runs dried up in the South Africa series later in the same year and was dropped from the side. The smashing performance in IPL 2018 handed him another call-up to the Indian side. He responded by scoring 47 runs in two innings against England.

To everyone’s surprise, he was again dropped, with the reason of providing chances to the youngsters. The 35-year-old last played in the IPL until 2021 and went unsold in the 2022 mega auction.