There were many, who despite having a pretty long and successful career in the domestic circuit, couldn’t make it to the national team but continued plying their trade for the sheer love of the game. 

Runs: - 11,167

Average: - 48.13

Major Teams:- Mumbai, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh

He announced his arrival with a record-breaking 260 runs in his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in the 1993-94 pre-quarter-final game against Haryana at the Nahar Singh Stadium in Faridabad. It was a world record for the highest score made on first-class debut, which till then was held by Transvaal's W. F. E. Marx, who made 240 against Griqualand West in Johannesburg in 1920-21.

Consistent knocks followed in the following seasons as he proved that the promise surrounding him was no fluke. He was even selected as the vice-captain of the India Under-19 team. He played alongside the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid for India A, but destiny had other plans in store. Where both Ganguly and Dravid went on to captain India for a long time, it was Amol Muzumdar travelling across the length and breadth of the country amassing tons of runs in the domestic circuit. 

Despite that, Muzumdar did carry on with his mission, and alongside Wasim Jaffer, he kept the hegemony of Mumbai in Indian domestic circuit intact. He went on to be a part of seven Ranji Trophy victories. 

But after being left out of the Mumbai squad for the Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in 2009, Muzumdar announced that he would represent Assam in the next Ranji season. In October 2012, he signed to play for Andhra Pradesh and stayed there before announcing his retirement in 2014.

2.  Rajinder Goel

First-class matches:- 157

5-wicket hauls per innings- 59

10-wicket hauls per match: 18 

Like Amol Muzumdar, Goel was also born in a wrong era when the spin quartet of India - Bishan Singh Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan weaved magic with their finger and palm, which robbed him of a place in the national side. Although he picked wickets in the domestic tournaments like picking apples in a garden, it never ensured him a place in the side. 

With a short and economic run-up, Goel was a treat to watch throughout his career. He was one of the greatest turners of the cricket ball of his times, if not the greatest, and rightly so, the inimitable Sunil Gavaskar described Goel in his book ‘Idols’, “Given the choice of facing Bedi and Goel at their peak, I would prefer to play Bishan because with his flight, Bishan gave you a bit of a chance by coming down the track and converting those deliveries into drivable balls, while Goel, with a flatter trajectory, was almost impossible to hit.”

Despite these achievements, Goel could never play for India. The only time, he was close to the landmark, was in the year 1964-65, when he played in one unofficial Test against Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). 

One of the finest gentlemen on and off the field, Goel doesn’t harbor any pain of not playing for the country as he says in an interview, "It was an honour to represent my state. It was an honour just to play the game."

First-class matches:- 155

Runs:- 9,558

Average:- 44.45

Major Teams: Madhya Pradesh

This love for the sport started back in the year 1989 when Bundela decided to leave his hometown Ujjain and shift to Indore to pursue his dream only at the age of 12. In Indore, he came in contact with one of India’s finest administrators Sanjay Jagdale, and life changed for good since then.

A half-century on debut for MP Under-16 side and consistent performances in almost every game that MP played made sure that he was graduated to the MP under-19 squad and then to India under-19 for a game against Australia. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in the year 1995-96 against Tamil Nadu.

A sturdily built middle-order batsman with powerful wrists and nimble feet, Bundela managed to create an aura around himself like very few cricketers did in their lives. He pulled level with Amol Muzumdar as the highest-capped player in the Ranji Trophy in the latest game against Railways of the Ranji Trophy.

Despite this, he failed to catch the eye of Indian selectors.

 Also Read:- Patience, belief and perseverance: The Devendra Bundela way

4.    Sridharan Sharath:

Runs:- 8,700

HS:- 224

Major Teams:- Tamil Nadu, Assam

Termed as the ‘crisis manager’ of Tamil Nadu team, unfortunately, Sridharan Sharath’s biggest accomplishment would only be playing Ranji Trophy. Sharath finished with a first-class aggregate of 8700 runs from 139 games at 51.17, but could never make it to the Indian dressing room. 

For all his exploits in domestic cricket, and for all his contribution to Tamil Nadu cricket, Sharath would be remembered as a giant for times to come. 

5.  Amarjit Kaypee:-

Runs:- 7,894

HS:- 210* 

Major Teams:- Punjab, Haryana

When Amarjit Kaypee hung his boots after a glorious domestic career in 2000, he went down as the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 7623 runs at 54.06, including 27 centuries, which was later broken by Amol Muzumdar and then Wasim Jaffer. With immaculate concentration, sound technique, and a strong penchant for runs, Kaypee shattered records at will.

Unlike others, Kaypee was vocal about the “partisan attitude” of the North Zone selectors as the cause of his non-inclusion in the national side.