Which cricketers had the TALENT but were unable to cash it into success they could've reached in their career?

1) Vinod Kambli: Everyone knows his story. During his early years in cricket Kambli was even considered more gifted than his good friend Sachin Tendulkar, outscoring him during the 664 run partnership they shared. According to the Daily Telegraph, "sport is littered with tales of what might have been, of talent flushed down the gurgler. But Kambli's story, particularly when placed beside that of his childhood friend, Tendulkar, is a modern tale of how quickly sport's shining paths can lead to a dead end once the small details are ignored.

After seven Tests, Kambli had scored 773 runs at an average of 113.2, including a washed-out match in which he did not bat. Only cricketing icons Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Everton Weekes, George Headley and Frank Worrell have scored more.

When it came, his fall was sudden and permanent. A weakness against short-pitched fast bowling (he kept flashing catches to gully), played its part, but his off-the-field lifestyle clearly irked those in charge. Most batsmen sporting an average of 54.2 - especially ones good enough to cane Shane Warne for 22 in an over - are given the chance to iron out any flaws. Not Kambli, and while his one-day career stuttered on until the 2000 ICC Trophy in Nairobi, he never played another Test."

2) Vijay Bharadwaj: An useful lower order batsman and off-break bowler, Bharadwaj was called into the Indian team for the LG Cup in Nairobi in 2000. In a tri-series between India, WI and Zimbabwe in 2001, the first series in which he got a regular place, he bagged the Man of the Tournament award. Sadly, his performances fell away as he too, like Kambli, gave in to the glitz and glamour lifestyle, sporting earrings and tattoos in later matches. Having failed in his last opportunity in the India A team in a tour to England, never received another call-up and faded into obscurity.

3) Sadagoppan Ramesh: Another Indian player to fall to the trap of self-aggrandisement. Having once vowed in an interview that if picked, the selectors would never be able to drop him again, Ramesh went on to make his debut against Pakistan in 1999, where, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, he made a solid 44 off 41 balls. Despite having run up a Test average of over 50 in his first six Tests, Australian detractors claimed that when it came to their own bowlers, Ramesh's form would not hold up, which proved right. His stay at the top was short-lived, although he did play in the Ind-Aus series in 2001 where India won the famous Kolkota test and Chennai test taking the series 2-1. Interestingly, like Kambli, he too has acted in the film industry, having effectively brought his international chances to an end by choosing to play for Assam, a state not known for cricketing prowess.

4) Murali Kartik: Another talented Indian who did not live up to his billing. Although he in the international fold, he was fallen a long way down the pecking order behind Kumble, Harbhajan, Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar. He too fell for the glamorous life, and was considered too indisciplined by the team management to make the team, although good performances repeatedly kept getting him back.

5) Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar: while for talent they are the best Pakistan produced since Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, their wayward lifestyles led to their talent being flushed down the drain.

6) Azhar Mahmood: Although his talent was undeniable, he never performed consistently enough for Pakistan to fend off competition from Abdur Razzaq, and had to make do with becoming a county professional with Surrey instead.

7) Mohammad Ashraful: Although he is still a "young cricketer", he never quite fulfilled the expectations placed on him by the public in Bangladesh after his maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka aged 17.

8) Anthony Stuart: PLayed 3 ODIs for Australia in 1996-97, taking 8 wickets at 13.62 including a hat-trick against Pakistan. Eventually his poor form saw him dropped from Australia and then the New South Wales state team, and he returned to playing grade cricket in Sydney, before taking up an administrative job in NSW cricket. Currently is the coach of Wellington Firebirds in New Zealand's domestic competition.

9) Greg Blewett: Blewett really "blew it". Despite repeated opportunities as an opener or a No. 3, failed to take all his chances, ending up with a Test average of 34.02 and ODI average of 20.40, which Steve Waugh described as "reflecting his inability to align talent with results". Along with Michael Slater, really only acted as a stopgap measure for the opening slots between the retirement of Mark Taylor and the rise of the Hayden-Langer partnership.

10) Mark Lathwell: As JPeeling already mentioned. The Guardian newspaper commented thus: "Lathwell, shy and diffident, suffered so horribly in the unforgiving light of others' expectations - Somerset coach Bob Cottam echoed wider opinion when he called the opening batsman 'the best young player I've ever seen' - that his fluent, wristy batting withered to stuttering incompetence. A natural, he forgot how to enjoy the game." He played two Tests, against Australia in 1993. Eight years on, struggling to make the Somerset team, he quit, aged 30.

11) Ricardo Powell: The man once hailed as the new Viv Richards miserably failed to deliver, and became an useless member of a deteriorating Windies team. Eventually, he moved from his native Jamaica to Trinidad & Tobago (where his wife was from), failed to make it into the Jamaican or T&T state cricket teams, then retired altogether at 29 to look after his business interests. What a waste of talent! (You'd recognise I had made this answer before).

12) Mark Ramprakash: Classic example of a player who failed to convert his county success to the international stage. The difference between his first-class average, 53.37, and his Test average, 27.32, says it all.

Vinod Kambli - The best player in the world to never play 25 tests.

An unbelievable talent.

Chris Cairns - Injury denied the world it's best allrounder.

He was the only player I've ever seen that genuinely would make a side as either a bowler or a batsman.

Botham

Hadlee

Khan

Dev

Flintoff

Kallis

Oram

Pollock

None of these would have matched him fully fit.

A tall fast bowler with the best off cutter in the business

A devastating middle order batsmen who could flail any attack on his day.

His averages in no way match his talents.

Nic Que Mate

My List:

Mic Slater

Kasprowicz

Trescothic

Nick Knight

Mohd Sami

Razzaq

Mohd Kaif

Kambli

A.Agarkar

Sadgopan Ramesh

Murli Kartik

Ashish Nehra

Akash Chopra

Parthiv Patel(combak posibl)

Laxman Shiv Rama Krishnan

Sanjay Manjrekar

Raman Lamba

Vinod Kambli

Murli Kartik

Yep, as someone else said Greg "Blew it".

He could have been anything, had the potential to be Australias opening batsman for a long time but allegations that the grog monster got him and cricket took the back seat.

He could also bat 3 or 4 and even fill the role down at 6.

Great hands in the field, very nimble, athletic and accurate and could bowl a very handy medium pace spell while searching for a break through. What a shame eh.

well Kambli has been said numerous times, so i will say Graeme Hick!!

that man should have dominated international cricket for 15 years, why he couldnt do it in international cricket i will never know (tho the selectors could have done there part in giving him a more consistent run rather than drop him if he went 2 innings without a big score), he had the talent but not the mental toughness

Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash both had the talent and ability to be top class batsman, but were never able to cope with the stress of the international stage.

In addition to JP's effort, I would like to bring up Stuart MacGill and Jason Gillespie.

At the moment, Ian Bell, the conversion rate is below what it could be. Hopefully his 199 wil be a turning point in his career so that he now converts more often.

Stuart MacGill

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Talented but his career was under the Shadow of Shane Warne

Misbah ul Haq. He's an amazing batsmen. Could have been compared to the likes of Inzi and Sachin, but unfortunately he only got on the team in his thirties.

Jonty Rhodes I think he never really filled his potential with the bat he was a really talented batsmen but only averaged in the mid thirties in both forms of the game with a total of 5 hundreds with his talent I feel he could have done more