3 Indian players who came close but missed their international debut opportunities

In a country where cricket is seen as a religion, the path to the Indian national team is hard, challenging, and often heartbreaking. Despite having one of the most competitive and structured domestic systems in the world, several brilliant players have failed to break into the international side.

These players, who gave everything to the game, season after season, in the domestic circuit never received national call-ups. While selectors have often emphasised the importance of domestic performance as a main standard for national selection. But in reality, not every promising player has been rewarded.

Indian players who came close but missed their international debut opportunity:

3. Sheldon Jackson:

38-year-old Sheldon Jackson, who announced his retirement in early 2025, is another player to have missed on representing India despite consistent performances. Born in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, and playing in Mumbai’s junior circuit, Jackson came up the ranks to become one of the most dependable batters in the domestic arena, especially in tournaments like Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. Despite hammering over 7,000 first-class runs at an average of 45.80, including 21 centuries, he never received an India call-up.

Jackson’s breakthrough came during the 2012–13 Ranji season, where he smashed consecutive centuries in the quarter-final and semi-final, guiding Saurashtra to their maiden final. His efforts earned him an India A call-up and a spot in the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, his IPL outings didn’t reflect his domestic brilliance. He also kept wickets and was a sharp fielder, and acted as a vital cog in Saurashtra’s batting unit for over a decade, and even helped Rest of India to a historic Irani Cup chase in 2016. After Saurashtra’s Ranji quarterfinal loss (2024-25), Jackson announced his retirement without seeing himself play internationals.

2. Jalaj Saxena:

Jalaj Saxena is another name on this list who did everything a cricketer possibly could to earn a national call-up, but never received his debut cap. Despite being in prime form season after season, including finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy, the selectors continued to overlook him.

 Born in Madhya Pradesh and now playing for Kerala, Jalaj has been a solid all-rounder, with 7,060 first-class runs and 484 wickets in 150 matches. He’s won the prestigious Lala Amarnath Award for Best All-Rounder three times. The 38-year-old even played for India A and was part of multiple IPL franchises, but featured in just one IPL match for the Punjab Kings in 2021.

1. Amol Muzumdar

Domestic legend Amol Muzumdar, who despite scoring over 11,000 first-class runs, never played for India. His career began with a dream debut, a 260 for Mumbai against Haryana in the 1993-94 season of the Ranji Trophy. Muzumdar’s peak years clashed with the golden generation of Indian batting, which included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and VVS Laxman, making it almost impossible to break into the batting line-up.

Despite his consistent performances and a first-class average of 48.13 with 30 centuries, he never made it to the national field. Muzumdar led Mumbai to Ranji titles and later played for Assam and Andhra. After his playing career, he transitioned into coaching, taking up roles in India’s U-19 and U-23 teams, the Netherlands (batting consultant), and Rajasthan Royals (IPL 2018-2020). He is currently the all-format head coach of the India Women, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur.