Hyderabad: With a robust domestic structure in place, India have a lot of depth in the talent pool they have got. The Indian cricketers strive hard in domestic cricket to get to the national side and the selectors shortlist such players. An emerging player usually gets a place in the Indian team for home series against inferior opponents like Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. After providing consistent performances, he gets a longer rope and also plays series on foreign soil.
However, there have been instances when a cricketer was handed a debut away from home but he never played in India. Some of them played only one international fixture while others played a few games on foreign soil.
Here are the list of the players who debuted for the Indian side but never played in India
Faiz Fazal: Faiz was one of the top Vidarbha players in first-class cricket when he was handed a debut. He played his first international fixture against Zimbabwe in 2016 at Harare. He also became the first Indian player in 16 years to make a debut in his 30s. He opened the innings and played a knock of 55 runs. However, he didn’t play any international games after that despite scoring a half-century.
Kenia Jayantilal: Known to be one of the stalwarts in the Hyderabad Ranji side, Kenia played as a reserve opening batter on the tour of West Indies. He played for the team in the 1971 series when Sunil Gavaskar was injured but managed to score only five runs on his debut. He represented the country only once but shone in his domestic career with an impressive record of 4687 runs from 91 first-class fixtures.
Baqa Jilani: The cricketer made his debut for India when they toured England in 1936. He didn’t pick any wicket while playing knocks of Not Out 4 and 12. Jilani is also the first bowler to pick the first hat trick in the inaugural edition of the Ranji Trophy in 1934-35.
Pawan Negi: The left-arm orthodox spinner played lone T20I for India in the Asia Cup 2016 against UAE. Negi failed to impress much through his performance and didn’t get to play for India anymore.
Abhijit Kale: One of the most promising players in the Bombay circuit, Abhijit Kale switched to the Maharashtra Cricket Association soon after not breaking through the star-studded batting lineup. Courtesy of his consistent performances, he was handed an ODI debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2003. India selectors Kiran More and Pranab Roy accused him of offering a bribe for a place on the Indian side. Abhijit Kale admitted that he tried to influence the selectors but dismissed the charges of offering bribery. The cricketer was banned till December 2003.
Arvind Apte: The former opening batter represented the Mumbai Ranji team in the domestic circles. Arvind featured in 58 first-class matches and amassed 2782 runs with an average of 33.51. He made his debut in Leeds against England in 1959 and managed to 8 and 7. He continued playing in the domestic circuit till 1972.
Ajit Pai: The tall right-arm pacer rose through the ranks in Bombay cricket and earned his first-class debut in the Ranji Trophy in the 1968-69 season. He played his only Test against New Zealand in 1969 and picked a couple of wickets. After quitting the sport, he worked as an architect for the Bank of Baroda.
Ramesh Saxena: The lad from Delhi had a reputation of handling spin bowling very effectively. He toured to England, Australia and New Zealand and was part of the team for 11 Tests. However, he played his sole Test against England at Leeds, Hedingley in 1967. The right-handed batter scored only 9 and 16 in the fixture but didn’t feature for the Indian team later.
