Indian cricket has been blessed with some stellar talent across the last decade but there have been some excellent combatants that have gone under the radar. Here we look at five of India’s underrated performers in recent times.
Ambati Rayadu
India’s depth of batting talent over the past decade means there has been fierce competition for places in the top order – just ask Karun Nair, who scored 303 not-out in a Test match against England in 2016 and was dropped for good just four innings later.
Ambati Rayadu is probably unfortunate not to have played more international cricket after scoring ten fifties and three centuries in 50 one-day international innings between 2013 and 2019.
Rayadu averaged 68.7 in 16 ODIs batting at number three, the spot usually occupied by the brilliant Virat Kohli, and also developed into a dangerous Twenty20 player, scoring 602 runs at a strike-rate of 149 for Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 Indian Premier League.
Ishant Sharma
No out-and-out fast bowler has played more Test matches for India than Ishant Sharma’s 105 yet the long-haired paceman tends to be overshadowed by younger quicks such as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
Sharma has been a stalwart of the Indian Test team for nearly 15 years, claiming more than 300 wickets and taking career-best figures of 7-74 to seal a famous victory over England at Lord’s in 2014.
His pace and seam movement also brought him success in ODI cricket – his last five victims in his final series in 2016 were Australia’s Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey, Aaron Finch and David Warner – and he deserves credit for his longevity in tough conditions for fast bowlers.
Ravindra Jadeja
It may seem bold to claim that Ravindra Jadeja, one of the biggest stars in the Indian cricket constellation, is underrated, but the scale of his all-round achievements may not be fully appreciated.
Jaddu is India’s eighth-highest run-scorer in all formats since the start of 2012 and only fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken more international wickets than his tally of 407 during that time.
Factor in Jadeja’s brilliant fielding and you are looking at the complete modern-day all-rounder, capable of match-winning performances with bat and ball in Test, one-day and T20 cricket.
Wriddhiman Saha
The legendary MS Dhoni casts a long shadow over the rest of India’s wicketkeeper-batsmen but Wriddhiman Saha is a classy operator who has never let down his team when given the opportunity.
Saha’s 40 Test caps have been spread over 11 years and he has a rock-solid record of 92 catches, 12 stumpings and three centuries, the last of which came against Australia in 2017.
His glovework behind the stumps is always slick and he displayed the range of his batting ability in 2014, becoming the first man to score a century in the IPL final when he blasted 115 not out off just 55 balls for Kings XI Punjab against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Shreyas Iyer
At the age of 27, Shreyas Iyer should have an exciting international career ahead of him and he has already displayed great talent and temperament across all three formats.
Iyer top-scored for India in both innings of his Test debut against New Zealand in November 2021, making 105 and 65 despite not having played a first-class game in three years.
His white-ball pedigree is also impressive. He has made eight fifties, as well as a century against the Kiwis in 2020, in his first 20 ODI innings and he should be hot property in the 2022 IPL auction following Delhi Capitals’ surprising decision not to retain their former captain.