3 Indian T20 World Cup 2021 squad members who will have to work hard to earn a place in T20 WC 2022 team
Inaugural T20 World Cup winners India entered the 2021 edition of the mega event as the favorites to win the trophy. However, the Men in Blue failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Their campaign ended in the Super 12 stage after they earned only six points from their five matches.
India played well against Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland. However, they lost the two matches that mattered the most. India started their campaign with a morale-shattering ten-wicket defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan and then lost to New Zealand by eight wickets.
It was Virat Kohli's first and last T20 World Cup as the Indian T20I captain. Rohit Sharma has now taken over the reins of the team and the selectors have already dropped some of the T20 World Cup squad members for the upcoming home T20I series against New Zealand.
However, it is not the end of the road for any of the dropped players. They can always make a comeback to the Indian T20I squad by performing well in the IPL as well as domestic tournaments. The following three Indian T20 World Cup 2021 squad members, though, will have to work very hard to earn a place in the mega event scheduled to take place in Australia next year.
3. Varun Chakravarthy
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was expected to be India's X-factor in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. However, the 30-year-old failed to pick up a single wicket for the Indian cricket team.
Chakravarthy played three matches in the tournament, conceding 71 runs in 11 overs. He was expected to take wickets at regular intervals. However, Varun returned wicketless in the matches against Pakistan, New Zealand and Scotland.
Since the pitches in Australia will not assist the spinners much, Chakravarthy will have to improve his performances in the upcoming T20Is to retain his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup next year.
2. Hardik Pandya
This wasn’t how we wanted our World Cup campaign to go. We fell short but we will work twice as hard to repay the faith and support shown to us by our fans. Thank you to everyone who cheered us on at the stadiums and everyone back home 🙏 🇮🇳 https://t.co/n8ZnHhEm6H
Hardik Pandya was another Indian player who failed to live up to expectations. Pandya has not been in the best form this year. He played some good knocks in Australia last year, but in 2021, he has not been able to deliver the goods consistently.
The Baroda-based star's bowling is no longer the same as well. In T20 World Cup 2021, Pandya bowled four overs and leaked 40 runs without taking a single wicket. If he fails to turn things around quickly, Pandya may find it challenging to earn a place in the T20 World Cup 2022 squad.
1. Rahul Chahar
Hard work and perseverance do make dreams come True 🇮🇳. #t20worldcup2021 https://t.co/ZTPAep95fm
Rahul Chahar only got one chance to showcase his talent in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. He played against Namibia and returned with figures of 0/30. While Chahar did not do much wrong in the mega event, the problem is India selected him over seasoned pro Yuzvendra Chahal for the T20 World Cup 2021.
Next year, the T20 World Cup is in Australia, a country where Chahal has done well in the past. It is highly unlikely that India will pick two leg-spinners in the T20 World Cup 2022. So, Rahul Chahar will have to work hard and prove himself to the selectors to ensure he plays in the T20 World Cup next year as well.