The word ‘Cricket’ is not limited to just a sport in India, but it is a passion for everyone. This is a dream that millions of Indians live every day and it is an important part of life for some and nothing less than life for some.
Cricket is setting new dimension of popularity every day with the help of its new formats, then the passion for cricket among people of all ages and classes is no less than crazy. Every child grows up today and dreams of becoming a cricketer.
But this path of dream is not so easy either. Every person who steps into the world of cricket, dreams of playing for Team India and to make this dream come true, playing for Ranji team in the world of domestic cricket can prove to be a milestone in the career of any player.
But, there have been some players, who were some extraordinary talent, who played in the Ranji Trophy, but, never managed to win it. Today, in this article, we take a look at 4 top Indian players who never won the Ranji Trophy.
VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman, who started his Test career in 1996, and is also called Very-Very Special Laxman, was one of the finest batsmen in Test cricket for the Indian team. Laxman is remembered for his super timing in the game, as well as glimpses of his idol Mohammad Azharuddin in his game.
But, like his idol, his Ranji career was nothing special for Laxman. Laxman, who made his debut for Hyderabad in 1993, played Ranji till 2012. Talking about individual performance, Laxman’s performance in Ranji Trophy was very good and he scored more than 5000 runs, including three double centuries. But despite this, VVS Laxman could not win the Ranji Trophy.
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh’s brilliant performance in the World Cup is a milestone in his career. Whether it is the 2007 T20 World Cup or the 2011 ODI World Cup, it is Yuvi’s brilliant game, due to which the team could win those trophies.
Yuvraj is especially known for his smoky batting and the fastest half-century, but Yuvi, who score 11000 runs and took 100 wickets in international cricket, also could not taste the victory in Ranji Trophy.
Yuvraj, who made his debut for Punjab in 1997 against Odisha, got an entry in the Indian team in the year 2000 thanks to his performance in the Ranji Trophy, after which he never had to look back, but, while Punjab is a successful team in the competition, Yuvraj never won the feat.
Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin, who received the title of Best Indian Cricketer in 1985, is known for the his wrist batting. In 99 Test matches of his career, he scored 22 centuries at an average of 45.03, but his record in Ranji does not match anywhere. Mohammad Azharuddin is one of those players whose team has not won Ranji till date.
Mohammad Azharuddin made his Ranji debut for Hyderabad in 1981. In the third year of playing Ranji, he was selected for the national team, however, still continued to play in the Ranji Trophy till the year 2000. But, he could not make the team win. At the same time, in the year 2000, Mohammad Azharuddin’s cricket career came to an end after he was caught in the allegations of match-fixing.
MS Dhoni
Captain cool MS Dhoni is considered one of the most successful captains in the world. Under his captaincy, Team India also won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Dhoni is also known as the best match finisher.
Dhoni, who made his debut in 2000 while playing for Bihar, played his first Ranji match against Assam in Jamshedpur. Dhoni got a chance in international cricket due to his hard work in 2003-2004 season while playing in the Ranji. Since then, Dhoni has set many records of success in international cricket and has never looked back. But, despite his all the success in International stage, he could not help his domestic team win the Ranji Trophy.