3 Indian players who might have played their last T20I in T20 World Cup 2022
India's T20 World Cup 2022 campaign ended with a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the second semifinal of the mega event on Thursday. The Men in Blue had an opportunity to advance to their first T20 World Cup final since 2014, but suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in the tournament's history to crash out before the summit clash.
A lot of questions will be asked about the Indian squad after their dismal showing against England. Given that multiple players in this squad are aged more than 30, there is a possibility that some of them might disappear from the T20I arena altogether.
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar recently commented on the future of the T20I squad in an interaction with Star Sports:
"Hardik Pandya will definitely take over the team in the future and there will be some retirements, you never know. Players will be giving it a lot of thought. There are several players in their mid-30s who will be reconsidering their position in the Indian T20I team."
"There will be some retirements" - Sunil Gavaskar newswire.lk/2022/11/10/ter…
On that note, we will look at the three players who might never play another T20I for India.
#1 Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik made an epic comeback to the Indian T20I squad earlier this year. After some stupendous batting performances in IPL 2022, Karthik earned a recall to the T20I squad. He impressed straightaway in the series against South Africa to cement his place in the team.
The 37-year-old played some decent knocks for the team, but could not play a big innings in the T20 World Cup 2022. He lost his wicket at a crucial moment in the opening match against Pakistan and then could not support Suryakumar Yadav when he needed someone at the other end against South Africa.
The team management dropped Karthik from the playing XI for the last Super 12 match against Zimbabwe and the semifinal against England. Since he is not present in the squad for the series against New Zealand, he might never return to the T20I team.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin
R Ashwin against Pak + SA + Eng
9-0-93-1
Another veteran player who had a tough time in the T20 World Cup 2022 was Ravichandran Ashwin. The conditions suited the fast bowlers, but a few spinners of other teams performed well in the tournament.
Fans had high hopes from experienced all-rounder Ashwin in this competition. However, the 36-year-old let the fans down with his performances in the big games. Like Karthik, Ashwin has been ignored for the New Zealand series.
#3 Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami was ignored by the Indian selectors for 11 months after the team's early exit from T20 World Cup 2021. He was playing Tests and ODIs for the team but did not get a place in the T20I team.
Due to multiple injuries in the Indian fast bowling unit and a dismal showing from the team in the Asia Cup 2022, the selectors recalled Shami for T20 World Cup 2022. Shami performed brilliantly in the warm-up match against Australia.
However, he looked off-color in the semifinal against England yesterday. With the next T20 World Cup two years away, and an ODI World Cup and World Test Championship final scheduled to take place soon, Shami's workload will have to be managed because he is one of the best fast bowlers in the country.
The selectors may look to give some opportunities to the new fast bowlers in T20Is after T20 World Cup 2022.