5 Players from India's T20 World Cup 2021 squad who won’t be part of this year's edition
The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 was announced by selectors on Monday, September 12. The Men in Blue will be led by Rohit Sharma, while senior batter KL Rahul will be his deputy. Former captain Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav will be the other two key batters in the team.
While there has been constant debate over Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik for the keeper-batter’s slot, the selection committee has retained both players in the 15-member squad. Speaking of all-rounders, Hardik Pandya will have a big role to play. It remains to be seen how Team India will utilize Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda.
Shifting the focus to the bowling front, the Men in Blue have picked four frontline seamers in Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and veteran offie Ravichandran Ashwin are the main slow bowlers in the team.
The previous T20 World Cup was held in the UAE last October-November. Five players from that edition won’t be part of India’s squad this year. Who are they? Let's take a look.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja
Unfortunately for India, their No. 1 all-rounder across all formats, Ravindra Jadeja, won’t be part of the team’s T20 World Cup campaign this year. The 33-year-old suffered a knee injury during the Asia Cup in the UAE and recently underwent surgery for the same.
Jadeja was in good form during the Asia Cup. Promoted to No. 4, he scored 35 against Pakistan as India beat their arch-rivals in their tournament opener. The all-rounder’s absence was clearly felt in the Super 4 stage as the Men in Blue went down against Pakistan and Sri Lanka to be eliminated from the continental competition.
During the 2021 T20 World Cup, Jadeja top-scored with an unbeaten 26 off 19 against New Zealand. He claimed three wickets each with his left-arm spin against Scotland and Namibia and was Player of the Match on both occasions.
#2 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan made his T20I debut just a few months before the World Cup last year. He scored a brilliant 56 off 32 balls against England in Ahmedabad and was named Player of the Match in his debut game.
The young left-hander played in only one match during the T20 World Cup last year. He was dismissed for four in the key clash against New Zealand.
Since the ICC event, Kishan has blown hot and cold with the willow. He did impress in the five-match T20I series against South Africa at home, leading the run-scoring charts with 206 runs at a strike rate of 150.36.
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After a few low scores against Ireland and England, he was dropped for the Asia Cup. The writing was more or less on the wall for Kishan as far as his T20 World Cup spot was concerned.
#3 Rahul Chahar
Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar seems to have slipped out of the selectors’ radar rather swiftly. Until last year, he was seen as one of the brightest young talents in Indian cricket. However, he hasn’t played a match for the country since India’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign last year.
Chahar was given an opportunity in the inconsequential group clash against Namibia. He could not make much of an impression, returning with figures of 0 for 30 from his four overs. In his previous T20I for India, he had claimed three for 15 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The 23-year-old has played six T20Is, claiming seven wickets at an average of 23.85. The leg-spinner has also played one ODI against Sri Lanka, registering figures of three for 54.
#4 Varun Chakravarthy
When mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was picked in the Indian side for last year’s T20 World Cup, some experts felt he could be the team’s X factor.
Chakravarthy had been very impressive for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL and did reasonably well in the few games that he played for India ahead of the marquee ICC event.
The inexperienced cricketer, however, looked completely at sea on the big stage. He played three matches during the 2021 T20 World Cup and went wicketless in each of them, including the key games against Pakistan and New Zealand.
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He was swiftly dropped after the tournament and has not played for India since.
#5 Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur went into last year’s T20 World Cup on a high. He played a stellar role in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) IPL 2021 triumph, claiming 21 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 25.09. However, he failed to replicate his success in the World Cup.
Thakur was dismissed for a duck and went wicketless in the must-encounter against New Zealand. He was expensive against Afghanistan, conceding 31 runs in three overs without picking up a wicket.
The 30-year-old has only featured in one T20I since the 2021 World Cup. Pandya's emphatic return has pushed Thakur out of contention in the T20I format.
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