India, Aug. 26 -- He scored a triple century and then two double hundreds in one Duleep Trophy season. In a World Cup match, his bowling spell lasted one ball and produced a wicket. Years later, he would top-score for India in the country's first-ever Twenty20 international. Yet the same cricketer finished with more than 8,000 first-class runs at an average of nearly 49 without ever playing a Test.

Long before his international career began, the left-hander had built the sort of domestic record selectors usually cannot ignore. In November 2000, he hammered an unbeaten 308 for Punjab against Jammu and Kashmir, facing 409 balls. A few months later, representing North Zone in the Duleep Trophy, he made 201 against South Zone and 208 against...