Left-arm quick Rudra Pratap Singh first made the headlines in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, taking eight wickets at 24.75 apiece and bowling well in the slog overs at the end of the innings. Three years later, he was in South Africa toasting India's first World Cup title win since 1983. And a year after that, he led an inspired bowling effort to beat Australia in Perth - a venue where the hosts hadn't lost to any team besides the world-beating West Indies since 1985.

Better still, RP Singh had the ability to move the new ball both ways and reverse the old one. It was that potential that tempted India to pull him out of a holiday and hand him his first Test in three years at The Oval in 2011. He bowled 34 overs, picked no wickets, and after that summer, did not play for India again. At the time, he had played 14 Tests, 58 ODIs and 10 T20Is.

When RP Singh was in top form though, his run-up was smooth, pace nippy, and he had an inswinger that confounded right-handed batsmen. He took 34 wickets in six Ranji Trophy games for Uttar Pradesh in 2003-04, the joint third-highest for the season. He made the national one-day squad at the end of 2005, and took two wickets in his second over of international cricket, against Zimbabwe in Harare in September. He claimed four wickets, and the Man-of-the-Match award, against Sri Lanka in his third game, and three more in his fourth, before a run of four wicketless matches cost him his place in 2006.

He was Man of the Match on his Test debut for some persistent bowling on a shirtfront in Faisalabad in 2006, where Pakistan ran up 588. He drifted out of contention after that, returned for his most prolific season in 2007-08, but began fading away soon after. The IPL gave him another stage to show his wares and his 23 wickets in the 2009 season, when the tournament was played in South Africa, led Deccan Chargers to the title. He has not been part of the tournament since 2013, but was still among the top-15 wicket-takers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2015-16. Limited-overs cricket still seems to suit him best. At the age of 30, he was one of the leaders in Gujarat's title-winning campaign in the Vijay Hazare tournament in the 2015-16 season.
ESPNcricinfo staff