Brilliant Moments: Every cricket player who plays for his country wants to be well-known. He goes out on the field with a burning desire to change the game forever and win over fans and admirers. Over the years, cricket has produced a lot of famous players, like Sir Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Joel Garner, Wasim Akram, and many more.
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The list keeps growing, and it looks like modern cricket players like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and James Anderson will also end their careers as some of the best of our time. But not everyone can get to the top.
Behind every Tendulkar and Anderson, there are many stories of people who showed promise but couldn’t make it big on the international stage.
In this feature, we talk about cricketers who didn’t have a lot of success on the international level, but had some great moments that put them in the history books.
#1 Joginder Sharma:
Brilliant Moments: Joginder Sharma, who was from Haryana and had a slow-to-medium pace, only played four ODIs and four T20Is for India. But he threw a ball that was one of the most important in the history of Indian cricket.
He was the one who took Misbah-ul-last Haq’s wicket in the thrilling 2007 T20 World Cup final between Pakistan and South Africa.
Misbah’s death led to wild celebrations all over India, and Joginder became a hero overnight. He never played for India again, which is ironic, and he ended his international career with five wickets in eight T20Is and ODIs combined.
#2 Balwinder Sandhu:
Brilliant Moments: He could be called India’s first World Cup hero who only played one game. Balwinder Sandhu, a right-handed medium-pacer from Mumbai, helped India beat the West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s.
The legendary Gordon Greenidge was bowled by the former pacer, who sent in a sharp ball that made Greenidge raise his arms.
The wicket made India think they could beat the powerful Windies, and Kapil Dev’s team went on to win the cricket world cup.
#3 Hrishikesh Kanitkar:
Brilliant Moments: Indian cricket fans who grew up in the 1990s will always remember the name Hrishikesh Kanitkar. The deciding final of the 1998 Independence Cup in Dhaka (the third of three) was very close. Kanitkar, on the other hand, kept his cool and hit a boundary off of Saqlain Mushtaq to help India win as the light was going out.
Kanitkar stayed unbeaten with 11 runs out of 12 balls as India chased down 315 runs with one ball left. The fact that the young left-hander won against Pakistan, India’s biggest cricket rival, made him an even bigger hero.
#4 Asif Mujtaba:
Brilliant Moments: Asif Mujtaba was a left-handed batsman for Pakistan who played 25 Tests and 66 ODIs over a period of ten years. But even though he had many chances and was clearly talented, he never made it big in international cricket.
Mujtaba’s name will always be linked to the six he hit off Steve Waugh’s last ball in an ODI in Hobart, Australia, in December 1992.
The Pakistani cricketer hit Waugh for 16 runs in that over, and when he hit a six over midwicket, it tied the tense game.
#5 Ricardo Powell:
Brilliant Moments: Ricardo Powell was a typical West Indian batsman who loved to hit the ball hard. But he ended up getting a name for being a restless slogger. Powell’s one great moment on the cricket field was in the 1999 final of a tri-series against India in Singapore.
West Indies was 67 for 4 while trying to get to 255. Powell, on the other hand, came in at No. 6 and played one of the most brutal knocks in the history of one-day cricket.
He hit 124 runs in 93 balls by hitting 9 fours and 8 sixes against a good bowling team that included Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad.
#6 Mike Veletta:
Brilliant Moments: Mike Veletta wasn’t able to make a big difference in Australian cricket. But he was a big reason why Australia won the World Cup in 1987 in Kolkata. When he came to bat at No. 6, he hit six fours and a smart 45 not out of only 31 balls.
Australia beat England in the final by going over 250 thanks to Veletta’s cameo. In hindsight, it was a big hit because the Aussies won their first cricket World Cup with a close 7-run win.
#7 Rajesh Chauhan:
Brilliant Moments: Rajesh Chauhan’s career as an off-spinner for India was hampered by questions about how he threw the ball. And in most of the games he played in, Anil Kumble was better than him. Surprisingly, it was the willow that gave him his moment of glory.
In an ODI against Pakistan in Karachi in 1997, Saqlain Mushtaq was holding the ball when India needed eight to win. Everyone wanted Chauhan to give the strike to the right batsman, Robin Singh, but he was on strike.
#8 Sameer Dighe:
Brilliant Moments: Sameer Dighe, from Mumbai, played for India for a short time. He will always be remembered as the person who had one of the most important cameos in Indian cricket history. India was 135 for 7 in the final Test of the famous 2001 series against Australia. They needed to score 155 runs to win. The hosts looked like they were about to miss a great chance to beat the strong Aussies.
Dighe, who has played domestic cricket for a long time, kept his cool and kept nudging and pushing India toward the goal.
The wicketkeeper-22 batsman’s runs off 48 balls kept India in the game until Harbhajan Singh hit two runs off Glenn McGrath to get India over the finish line.
#9 Collis King:
Brilliant Moments: Collis King, who used to play cricket for the West Indies, played nine Tests and 18 ODIs during a career that was nothing special.
He was good at hitting, though. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to outshine Sir Viv Richards when they played together, especially in the 1979 World Cup final against England at Lord’s.
West Indies was batting first in the final match, and when King walked in, they were at 99 for 4. He hit like a king and got 86 runs in just 66 balls. The big hitter hit 10 fours and 3 sixes to put West Indies in the lead, while the England bowlers could only watch in amazement.
#10 Anthony Stuart:
Brilliant Moments: How many cricket players have gotten a hat-trick in a one-day game and then never played for their country again?
Anthony Stuart, a former Australian medium-pacer, may be the only name on the list. In an ODI against Pakistan in Melbourne in January 1997, he took 5 wickets for 26 runs.
With the third, fourth, and fifth balls of his sixth over, Stuart got rid of Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, and Moin Khan, giving him a famous “hat-trick.”
Australia won the game by three wickets, and he was even named man of the match.
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