3 Indian men's players who were unlucky to miss out on the Asian Games 2023 squad
Team India's men's squad for the cricket competition of the Asian Games 2023, to be held in China from September 28 to October 8, promises thrills and spills.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will skipper of the national side even before captaining an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma and Jitesh Sharma have never played for India before, but they've shown enough of their ability at the IPL level. Shivam Dube, Chennai's new cult hero, has made a comeback.
Team India men's squad for the Asian Games 2023: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk).
At the same time, however, a few players who arguably deserved a spot in the side unfortunately didn't make the grade. This list is, of course, excluding those who are bound to be part of India's plans for the World Cup, which will be held along similar timelines.
Here are three Indian men's players who were unlucky to miss out on the Asian Games 2023 squad.
#3 Varun Chakaravarthy
Varun Chakaravarthy has reinvented himself successfully. There was a period of time when he failed to hit the right lengths on a consistent basis, but his IPL 2023 performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) showed that the spinner has advanced his game significantly.
Chakaravarthy, as a result, was expected by many to be given another opportunity at the international level. His first stint with the national side, during the 2021 T20 World Cup, saw him dish out decent performances, only to be dropped from the side rather unfairly shortly after the marquee ICC tournament.
Ravi Bishnoi is the only out-and-out spinner in India's squad for the Asian Games. Chakaravarthy would've been a valuable addition, especially since the Men in Blue are bound to play oppositions who wouldn't have seen much of the dangerous spinner.
#2 Harshit Rana
![Harshit Rana [left] has been climbing up the ranks lately](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/07/ae6a0-16895897424180-1920.jpg)
Harshit Rana has already been fast-tracked into the Indian team. He is currently representing the A side in the Emerging Teams' Asia Cup, having performed well in both matches thus far.
Rana has all the makings of a quality performer. He showed good pace and hit-the-deck ability while playing for KKR in IPL 2023 and has also displayed a fair amount of hitting ability in domestic competitions since.
Only 21 years old, Rana has a massive upside, and India will do well to recognize that and give him exposure at higher levels of cricket as soon as possible. With the pace attack for the Asian Games looking rather thin, the Delhi pacer would've been a smart addition.
#1 Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag had a miserable IPL 2023 for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), but that shouldn't take anything away from the fact that he's as exciting an all-round package as any in the country.
Like Rana, Parag is turning out for India A in the Emerging Asia Cup. Prior to that, he had an excellent domestic season across formats for Assam, who punched above their weight against stronger oppositions on the back of the youngster's spunky showings.
India are rather short of backup spin-bowling all-rounders in the shortest format, which the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed aren't necessarily suited to. Parag could become a match-winner for the Men in Blue if he is backed through the lean IPL phase he is currently going through.