He was expected to script a new chapter of hope in the sporting history of Jammu and Kashmir but it ended up being a case of so near yet so far for off-spinning all-rounder Parveez Rasool, who did not play for India in all the five ODIs against Zimbabwe.
Once the series was clinched by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, India skipper Virat Kohli was expected to give the bench players an opportunity.
Quite a few of them like Mohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara got the captain’s nod except for Rasool, who now has to wait for some more time to make his international debut.
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It was quite surprising that the team management did not give Rasool an opportunity even in the final match despite holding a 4-0 lead in the series.
Impressive show
The 24-year-old Rasool, who hails from Beijbehara, has been in contention for national selection for a while now after a string of impressive performances at the first-class level.
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Rasool was the standout performer for J&K in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy, ending the season as its top scorer and highest wicket-taker.
In his seven Ranji matches, Rasool scored 594 runs at 54 with two centuries, and took 33 wickets at 18.09 to finish as the third-highest wicket-taker among spinners in the tournament.
Rasool, who made his first-class debut for J&K in 2008-09, has played 17 first-class matches, scoring 1003 runs and taking 46 wickets.
Rasool made headlines after being named in the India ‘A’ and Board Presidents XI squads for the warm-up matches against England and Australia in late 2012 and early this year.
Although he did not make much of an impact against England, Rasool returned impressive figures of seven for 45 against the Aussies in February. In that particular match he was also the second highest scorer for his team with 36.
Rasool cashed in on the opportunity to become the first cricketer from the valley to bag an IPL contract when he was signed by Pune Warriors India for the sixth edition.