A Run Machine Who Never Got His India Cap

The cricketer in question is Dheeraj Jadhav, a prolific left-handed opener whose remarkable domestic record never translated into an international appearance.

Jadhav’s breakthrough came during the 2003–04 domestic season, when he amassed 1,245 runs in just 15 innings across the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. He averaged an extraordinary 103.75, scoring five centuries, including three double hundreds. No other Indian batter crossed 1,000 runs in those competitions that season.

His performances soon earned him an India A call-up. During the 2004 tour of Kenya, Jadhav was part of a team that also featured a young MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. He scored 257 runs in the triangular one-day tournament and produced an unbeaten 260 in a three-day match against Kenya. His 89 in the final against Pakistan A earned him the Player of the Match award.

Jadhav then strengthened his Test credentials by scoring 113 for India A against the senior Indian team, facing an attack featuring Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

But when India needed a new opener for the fourth Test against Australia in Mumbai, the selectors chose Gautam Gambhir over Jadhav. Gambhir made his Test debut at the Wankhede, while Jadhav remained on the sidelines.

Another opportunity came in 2005 when Sachin Tendulkar withdrew from India's Zimbabwe tour while recovering from surgery. Jadhav was selected as Tendulkar's replacement, but once again he did not make the playing XI, with Sehwag and Gambhir preferred as the opening pair.

Despite missing out on international cricket, Jadhav continued producing huge domestic numbers. In 2011–12, playing for Assam at the age of 32, he scored 704 runs in only five matches, including five centuries.

He eventually finished his first-class career with 7,679 runs from 111 matches, including 23 centuries and 31 fifties. Yet, remarkably, the player who once averaged more than 100 in a domestic season and starred alongside Dhoni for India A retired without playing a single international match for India.