First-class matches are nothing but the most extended format of domestic cricket. Like Test matches, every team gets to play two innings in first-class cricket. These matches are not considered in international numbers, but first-class matches have much significance when a cricket board selects its team for Test matches.
Generally, the players who perform well in first-class cricket get opportunities to represent their country in the Test match arena. Over the years, several legendary players have made it to the Test arena after some fantastic performances in the first-class formats. However, some players have been unfortunate to have never made their Test debut despite gaining much experience in first-class cricket.
In this article, we will have a look at those five Indian cricketers who featured in 100 or more first-class games but never made it to the Indian Test team.
5. Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan played exactly 100 first-class matches in his domestic career. The Baroda all-rounder was famous for his hard-hitting skills. He could smash the bat outside the boundary rope right from the word ‘go’. Pathan was a part of the Indian team that won the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Pathan was also a good red-ball player. He scored 4,825 runs and took 201 wickets in his first-class career. Unfortunately, Yusuf never received a chance to play Test cricket for Team India.
4. Devendra Bundela
Devendra Bundela is the former captain of the Madhya Pradesh cricket team. He is one of the few Indian cricketers to have played 100 Ranji Trophy matches but never made his Test debut for the nation. Bundela made his first-class debut in 1995/96 and played his last match in December 2017.
Bundela scored 10,004 runs in 164 first-class matches. His batting average was 43.68, while he had 23 centuries and 54 fifties to his name. Bundela has retired from all formats of cricket now.
3. Amol Muzumdar
Regarded as the greatest Indian batsman to have never played international cricket, Amol Muzumdar scored runs consistently for the Mumbai cricket team. Later in his career, Muzumdar played for Andhra and Assam.
In his career, Amol played 171 first-class matches and amassed 11,167 runs at an average of 48.13. He registered 30 hundreds and 60 fifties. He was also a great fielder as Muzumdar took 162 catches. Unfortunately, Muzumdar’s career came to an end before he could don the Indian jersey even once.
2. Rajat Bhatia
Former IPL champion Rajat Bhatia will go down as one of the most underrated all-rounders of all time. Bhatia could bowl right-arm medium pace and contribute some vital runs with the bat.
Bhatia played 112 first-class games in his career, scoring 6,482 runs and scalping 137 wickets. The all-rounder played for Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand in domestic cricket. His last appearance came in January 2019 against Mizoram.
1. Ashoke Dinda
Ashoke Dinda was one of the top pace bowlers in the Bengal cricket team. He made his first-class debut in 2005 and played first-class cricket for Bengal until 2019. In his career, Dinda played 116 first-class games.
The right-arm fast bowler delivered close to 23,000 balls, where he picked up 420 wickets at an economy rate of 3.09. While Dinda played 13 ODIs and nine T20Is for the Indian cricket team, he never got the opportunity to play Test cricket for India.
