The curious case of Ajay Sharma

I was checking out the stats for Ajay Sharma. He has the 5th highest batting average in first class cricket among all batsmen who have played atleast 50 innings. He played all of 1 test match and 31 ODIs.

• His only test match appearance was in Jan 1988. He made 30 and 23 batting in number 6
• He played 2 ODIs in Jan 1988. He did not bat in the first match and made 2 (not out).
  

-> In the first ODI, India batted first after winning the toss. Ajay Sharma, primarily a middle order batsman, was one of 3 batsmen who all made their debut in the same match. The match was the 3rd of a 7 match series with the series tied at 1-1 :). India played the full quota of 45 overs and Ajay Sharma did not get a bat
-> In the second ODI, Ajay Sharma came into bat at number 9 (thats right!!!!) and made 2 not out. Again, India had won the toss and chose to bat. This is very interesting indeed since one would imagine that a young middle order batsman making his debut can only be judged if he gets some time in the middle.

-> India played 11 more ODIs from then till 31st October when Ajay Sharma next got a look in. Meanwhile, it might be worthy to point out that during this time, Ajay Sharma was not exactly setting the national scene alight with his performances in the first class level.

-> Having had a decent time in the middle for the next few ODIs, his form gradually went on the decline and after a stop and start career, his career as a player for the national side ended. He had played in 31 ODIs.
- Only 1 inning in the number 4 position (59 not out :) )
- Never batted higher up than number 6 in the lineup in any of the matches

• In the 1992/93 Ranji season he scored 784 runs with 5 scores of 50 or more in 9 innings (3 centuries)
  
• In the 1993/94 he made 403 runs in 6 innings with 4 scores of 50 or more
• 1995/96 - 864 runs in 12 innings with 4 hundreds
• 1996/97 - 1033 runs in 10 innings with 5 hundreds

In 1996, Ajay Sharma was 32 years of age and probably in the best form of his lfe. India was not doing very well in the test scene (3 wins out of 9 tests played). It was around this time that a couple of youngsters, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman were given a debut.

Call it plain tough luck or selectors' choice. Ajay Sharma got his chance maybe a little too early in his career to make an impact. And only 1 test match appearance for a guy with a career batting average of 67.46 does sound a touch too harsh. (By far, the fewest test appearances for any player who played atleast 100 first class matches and has an average of 50 or more :( ). I remembered that Michael Hussey made his test debut at age 30. Sometimes, the game can be a gift to some and cruel to others.

This perhaps best illustrates the curious case of Ajay Sharma.