The partnership is part of Indian cricket folklore. The setting was the semifinals of the 1988 Harris Shield inter-school tournament in Bombay. A 13-year-old Sachin Tendulkar along with Vinod Kambli put on a then-record 664-run stand for the third wicket. The two hitherto unknown schoolboys played out a partnership that would instantly propel them to stardom. When the team declared at a massive 748, all eyes were on these two. But not so far away in the stands, padded up and ready in case a wicket fell, was another 13-year-old. That boy was Amol Mazumdar. While Sachin and Kambli went on to play for India, Muzumdar's career panned out exactly like that Harris Shield innings, padded upon the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity. 5 years later, in 1993, he made his first class debut for Mumbai against Haryana in the Ranji trophy and scored a spectacular 260. That knock is still the world record for the highest score on first class debut. He would go on to score an unbelievable 11,167 runs in a first-class career that stretched 21 years.

But he was trying to break into an Indian team that had possibly the most talented batting line-ups of our times.

I'm sure if it were up to us, we wouldn't change a thing. Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman were a joy to watch and deserved the Big 4 status that they achieved. We cannot, even for a second, imagine THAT Indian cricket team without any single one of them.

But it's a tragedy that a talent such as Amol never got a shot at the big time, just because he was born in the wrong era. A lot of cricketers in India fall prey to politics, injuries or bad form; but Amol just had bad timing to blame.

Amol Mazumdar retired in 2014, without playing a single game for India.