Cricket has witnessed several legends and world-class players make it large. While representing your country is itself an achievement, several players make their country proud on the field. It takes talent and hard work to excel on the biggest stage.
Various cricketing nations have been lucky to witness not one but several world-class players play for their respective teams. However, this has often resulted in one individual getting overshadowed. There are several instances where a cricketer doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves.
Cricket has witnessed several such underrated players who have played international cricket. Every team has at least one underappreciated cricketer in their history. Today we shall be taking a look at-
One under-rated cricketer from each country
10) Zimbabwe- Heath Streak
Heath Streak is unarguably one of the greatest bowlers to have played for Zimbabwe. It is really sad that he was never appreciated as much as he deserved to be. The former Zimbabwean pacer was an absolute legend, to say the least.
Despite not playing as many matches as he should, owing to Zimbabwe’s position on the cricket map, he still made an impact whenever given a chance. He has picked as many as 450 international wickets in 255 games. This includes 8 fifers as well.
It was safe to say that he carried a rather fragile bowling unit all by himself. One must remember that he wasn’t a mug with the bat either. The former Zimbabwe captain and bowling coach has also scored 24 fifties and a hundred.
9) Bangladesh- Mushfiqur Rahim
Mushfiqur Rahim is arguably one of the most underrated keepers in the history of cricket. Despite being the “Mr. Consistent” of Bangladesh, he hasn’t really got the appreciation he deserves. The former Bangladeshi captain happens to have scored the most number of double hundreds by a wicketkeeper in Test cricket.
He became the only keeper to score two double hundreds when he scored his second double hundred against Zimbabwe in 2018. One must not forget the fact that he has a batting average of 36 in both, Tests as well as ODIs which is more than decent. He also happens to be an absolute livewire behind the stumps.
One of the major reasons why he isn’t appreciated as much as he should is because of his off-field antics such as his tweet trolling India when they lost in the semis during the T20 World Cup in 2016. Besides, his over-excited nature has often been criticized. Nevertheless, one can’t disagree with the fact that the wicketkeeper-batsman is one of the grittiest players to have ever played for Bangladesh.
8) West Indies- Shivnarine Chanderpaul
One wouldn’t find too many players as underrated as Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Despite being one of the main players for the West Indies for close to two decades, he never got his due share of the credit. He has been the wall for Windies on numerous occasions and has often played the rescue act.
It is really sad when one realizes that someone with the caliber of Chanderpaul remained underappreciated for the most part of his career. It is safe to say that he had one of the most unorthodox batting techniques. His batting was unpleasant to the eye, yet it was more than effective.
The Unsung hero of West Indies has scored close to 21,000 runs in international cricket. This includes 41 hundreds and 2 double centuries to his name. No Windies batsman other than Brian Lara has scored more runs than him in international cricket.
7) Pakistan- Younis Khan
(Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Younis Khan is one of the greatest Asian batsmen of all time. Hailing from a place that isn’t really famous for producing world-class batsmen, Younis Khan surely felt otherwise and scored a truckload of runs for Pakistan. The former Pakistani skipper was an absolute asset to his team.
He was one of the rare cases of a player getting better with age. The batting maestro remains underrated despite scoring the most number of runs for Pakistan in the longest format of the game. He has also scored the second most number of runs by a Pakistani batsman in the history of cricket.
With 17790 runs in international cricket, only Inzamam-ul-Haq (20541 runs) has scored more runs than him in Pakistan’s cricketing history. He also holds the record for scoring the most number of centuries by a player from Pakistan. It’s rather surprising that he remained underrated throughout his career.
6) Sri Lanka- Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas was an absolute match-winner. Not many pacers have a better record than him. It gets better when you realize that he played most of his cricket in pitches which don’t assist pace.
It is safe to call him one of the most underrated pacers of all time. 350 Test wickets and 400 ODI wickets, he had a legacy of his own. The former Lankan seamer was a silent assassin, to say the least, and quietly went about his job.
He was a pretty handy lower-order batsman as well. With 14 fifties and a hundred to his name, there’s no way you could call him a tailender. Last but not the least, he even coached his former team after his retirement.
5) South Africa- Graeme Smith
Unarguably one of the most underrated players of all time, Graeme Smith was destined to accomplish legendary feats. It is safe to call him one of the greatest captains of all time. He is the most successful Test skipper of all time too.
While other players dream to play 100 Tests, he has captained South Africa in 100 Tests. Not to forget the fact that he averaged 47 and 38 in Tests and ODIs respectively. Considering the fact that opening is one of the toughest positions and South Africa is one of the toughest places to bat, his averages were superb.
The tall and Beefy cricketer never got the praise he deserved because of his silent nature. It is safe to say that he was one of the nicest cricketers as well. Thus, the former Proteas skipper remains one of the most underrated cricketers of all time.
4) England- Marcus Trescothick
Considering the amount of hype English cricketers get due to their fans, not many English cricketers are actually underrated. However, Marcus Trescothick was underrated. He deserved a lot more appreciation.
He was really unlucky that he got to play for barely 6 years. He played 200 international matches and thus, couldn’t score more runs like any other world-class batsman. Nevertheless, he is still one of the best English openers.
The former English opener scored 5825 Test runs in 143 innings at an average of 43.8. He has scored 4335 ODI runs at an average of 37.37. It is rather unfortunate and sad that his international career came to an abrupt end due to stress and depression.
3) New Zealand- Stephen Fleming
New Zealand have always been blessed with world-class skippers. They have always had a habit of punching above their weights. However, Not too many Kiwi cricketers were as good as Stephen Fleming.
Despite being underrated, Fleming is one of the best cricketers and captains cricket has ever seen. His leadership skills were appreciated by one and all. He also happens to be one of the best captains in the history of cricket.
The former Kiwi skipper has also scored 15289 runs and is second on the list of the highest run-scorers for New Zealand in international cricket. One must not forget that he was the first Kiwi captain to win an ICC Trophy. Thus, he was one of the most underrated cricketers from New Zealand.
2) Australia- Damien Martyn
There was always a stiff competition to get into the Aussie squad back then. It became even difficult to establish yourself in the Aussie setup owing to the number of world-class players around. Despite that, Martyn managed to establish himself and became a regular face in the Australia squad during his time.
He was really unlucky to be playing in probably the best era of Aussie as he was surrounded by superstars. Thus he never got his due credit. The former Aussie batsman was always underappreciated due to the fact that his team had a lot of match winners. Despite that, his strokes were always pleasing to the eye.
Martyn has scored over 10,000 runs and international cricket which includes 18 centuries. He was also a part of several successful World Cup campaigns. Thus, he was the unsung hero of Australia’s golden era in the 2000s.
1) India- Irfan Pathan
It is safe to say that Irfan Pathan was one of the unluckiest cricketers of all time. He would have definitely become a legend if not for injuries. Who could forget his memorable hat trick against Pakistan?
It is safe to say that he was one of India’s best pace all-rounders and was lethal during his peak. Not many Indians bowlers could get the ball to swing as he did. He was a pretty decent batsman as well.
Thus, he was a complete package, to say the least. Last but not the least, he was one of the main reasons why India won the T20 world cup in 2007. It is sad when one realizes that he picked a fifer in his last international match and never played after that.
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