5 players who you might not know once played for India in ICC T20 World Cup
The Indian cricket team was the first to capture the ICC T20 World Cup championship. The Men in Blue won the title in the year 2007 when South Africa hosted the competition. After India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and England have emerged as champions in this global event. The Caribbean side is the only one to have won the championship twice.
So far, there have been six editions of the ICC T20 World Cup. Inaugural champions India participated in all of them. Also, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were a part of the Indian squad in all the tournaments. However, not many fans would remember that the following five players were also a part of the Indian T20 World Cup squad once upon a time.
1. Ajit Agarkar was part of India's ICC T20 World Cup winning squad in 2007
Ajit Agarkar is a former Indian all-rounder who holds the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian the One Day International format of the sport. Agarkar was a right-arm fast bowler. He was a part of the Indian playing XI that played in the country's first ever T20I match against South Africa in 2006.
The selectors picked him in the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2007. Agarkar played three matches in the competition, with his last appearance coming in the Super 8 stage match against New Zealand. Agarkar did not play a single T20I match after that tournament.
2. Manish Pandey was a last-minute addition to Indian squad in ICC T20 World Cup 2016
Manish Pandey missed out on a spot in the original squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in the year 2016. However, he later earned a place as a replacement for Yuvraj Singh.
Skipper MS Dhoni and the team management picked him in the playing XI for the semifinal against West Indies, where he did not bat. Pandey is unlikely to be a part of the Indian squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup. His IPL performance will play a major role in deciding his future.
3. Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary is one of the best batsmen to have played for Bengal in the domestic circuit. He also performed well for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rising Pune Supergiant teams in the IPL. However, Tiwary only got an opportunity to play in three T20I matches for India.
He batted in only innings, where he scored 15 runs at a strike rate of 88.23. Tiwary received a place in the ICC T20 World Cup squad for the 2012 edition, but he did not get a single match.
4. Stuart Binny
Stuart Binny made his T20 international debut in the year 2015 against Zimbabwe. However, one year before that, the selectors had included him in the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2014. Binny did not get a single match in the competition.
Binny is a right-arm medium pace-bowling all-rounder. After making his T20I debut in the year 2015, he played three T20Is for the country, scoring 35 runs and picking up one wicket.
5. Varun Aaron
Fast bowler Varun Aaron has not played a single T20 international match in his career to date. However, the selectors had picked him for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2014.
Aaron had made his Test and ODI debut in the year 2011. So far, the right-arm fast bowler has played nine Test matches and nine ODI games, picking up total 29 wickets.