2 players who were unlucky to miss out on a spot in the Test squad to face Windies
BCCI recently announced the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Windies at home. India will don the whites after a long gap of more than eight months to take the field at home.
The series will be a dress rehearsal for the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia later this year. It was assumed that the selectors might look to rope in few youngsters to test them before the big tour. And as expected, the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Mayank Agarwal have been given the due opportunities as a maiden Test call-up for their consistent performances in the domestic circuit.
Also, few big names were shown the way out after a dismal run in the last series against England. Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay were dropped, whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were rested to manage the workload. Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not considered for selection as the duo was still to recover from their injuries.
Let's take a look at two players who were unfortunate to miss out from the squad.
#1. Karun Nair
Ever since the Karnataka-lad struck a mesmerizing triple hundred against England at Chennai in 2016, he has been sidelined from the team. He was in the 18-member squad against England but didn't get any opportunities to take the field in any of the games.
It was disappointing to see Hanuma Vihari getting a game before him in the last Test at Oval. With Vihari making the opportunity count, Nair has been ruled out of the 15-member squad which is set to lock horns against the Windies. It is unfortunate for the 26-year old to not get a further go in the home series despite not doing anything wrong.
#2. Rohit Sharma
It was speculated that the Indian limited overs vice-captain will make the cut into the Test squad for the series against Windies. After a dismal run by the batting group in England, all eyes were set on the selection committee to rope in Rohit for the home series.
However, it seems that the selectors have made up their mind to keep Sharma waiting for his Test comeback. Rohit, who last played a Test against South Africa in the Rainbow nation, had a poor run with the bat as his technique to play against the moving ball came to the fore, where he struggled against the incoming deliveries. As a result, he was ignored for the Test series against England.