Indian Cricket: There have been many Indian Cricket players who have excelled in the international arena, but there have also been some who have only been able to participate in a few Test matches.

One of the main reasons such players don’t get another chance on the Test side is that they didn’t put forth enough of an effort to impress the team management and selectors in their debut game.

There have also been cases where the squad found superior players to take their spots. The first cricketer to have only appeared in one Test during their career was Yuvraj Singh of Patiala. However, a long list of these players is selected to play in a single Test.

Here, we examine a few players who made their debuts in the longest format of the game but were unable to repeat their performance.

Indian Cricket: Here are 3 Indian Players Who Only Represent India Once In Test Match

3. Vinay Kumar

As a member of a four-pronged pace attack with Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav in the third Test of Indian cricket 2011 tour of Australia, where the hosts won the series 4-0, Vinay Kumar played his sole Test match for his country. The WACA in Perth served as the venue for this specific game.

Vinay Kumar’s Test debut went horribly as India went on to lose the game by an innings and 37 runs. He finished with statistics of 1/73 from the 13 overs he bowled in the lone innings that Australia batted. He was never again given consideration for the Indian whites because of his lackluster performance in the Test match.

However, Vinay Kumar continued to play for the Indian cricket team, appearing in as many as 31 ODIs. He has also had great success in the Ranji Trophy, leading Karnataka to back-to-back championships in 2013–14 and 2014–15. 2019 saw Vinay Kumar become the second-fastest bowler in Ranji Trophy history to reach 400 wickets.

2. Naman Ojha

Another Indian wicketkeeper who would consider themselves unlucky to have played in the same era as MS Dhoni is Naman Ojha. Ojha never had the opportunity to play for India in Test cricket until 2015. This is despite his regular Ranji Trophy performances and his heroics for Rajasthan Royals in the first few seasons of the league.

Only after Dhoni retired from the game’s longest format could it take place. 2015’s third and final Test of the series between India and Sri Lanka featured Naman Ojha’s lone game. The Sara Oval in Colombo served as the venue for the game. Naman Ojha had to perform exceptionally well to secure his spot in the Test team.

With scores of 21 and 35 in the first and second innings, respectively, Ojha had a pretty average Test match. He has never since played for India in any kind of game. Naman Ojha is the Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy team’s current captain.

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1. Jaydev Unadkat

For winning Saurashtra to their first-ever Ranji Trophy victory in 2019–20, Jaydev Unadkat has grabbed news. He led from the front and set a record for the most wickets taken by a fast bowler in a single Ranji Trophy season with 65 during that edition of the championship.

Unadkat, who is 28 years old, has experience on his side. He and Shahbaz Nadeem have the best chances of the five cricketers discussed in this article to receive another Indian cricket Test call-up. Unadkat made his Test debut against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion when he was 19 years old. He replaced Zaheer Khan, who was injured, in the Test match.

Unadkat hasn’t had the chance to wear Indian cricket whites since that time. He has had moderate success in the IPL, though. In the two years that the Rising Pune Supergiant team was in existence, he was a crucial part of the team. Jaydev Unadkat has been a consistent part of the Rajasthan Royals’ lineup since 2018.

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