3 players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the Afghanistan T20I series
On Sunday, January 7, the BCCI announced India's squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The assignment will commence in Mohali on Thursday, January 11.
The major talking point was the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who haven't been part of the T20I setup since the conclusion of the 2022 T20 World Cup. The experienced duo has been picked in the squad amid a great deal of polarizing opinions from all parties involved.
Team India's squad for the Afghanistan T20Is: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
While the Men in Blue will have a similar squad to choose from, following their South Africa and Australia rubbers, there were a few picks in the contingent that have clear cases against their selection.
Here are three Indian players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan.
#3 Shivam Dube
Following his prolific Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Shivam Dube earned a recall to the national side. Since his comeback, though, the southpaw has played only a couple of matches. He has batted lower down the order instead of being deployed in a spin-hitting role.
Dube subsequently missed out on India's last T20I assignment against South Africa, presumably because of his style of play not being effective on bouncy tracks. He is now back for the home assignment against Afghanistan, who are known for their spin prowess.
But where is the consistency? Before being dropped, Dube wasn't given an adequate run of games in his ideal position. And now, with India having different plans for their top four with Kohli and Rohit being back, the 30-year-old might not be able to make an impact once again.
Whether Dube deserves his place in the squad or not is another question, but after the way the selectors have operated recently, he was certainly lucky to be picked for the Afghanistan T20Is.
#2 Mukesh Kumar
This is a question that has been asked time and again over the last year or so - what do the selectors see in Mukesh Kumar in white-ball cricket?
In 11 T20Is, Mukesh has picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 9.28. While he has had a couple of impressive death-bowling performances, he hasn't done much of note to warrant being picked for all assignments across formats and oppositions.
Records aside, Mukesh arguably doesn't have enough tools in his shed to be a consistent limited-overs bowler. He hasn't been used by India in the powerplay, where he is supposed to be effective, and his reliance on the yorker is a strategy that is bound to unravel.
India have picked only three fast bowlers in their squad, and Mukesh is a player who keeps making the grade despite several factors being against his inclusion.
#1 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma will not only be part of the Indian squad for the Afghanistan T20Is, but he will also be the captain. The opening batter has been excellent for India in the other two formats lately, but his T20I performances have been woeful for a considerable period now.
Rohit's woes have been compounded by the fact that he has been a constant failure in the IPL for Mumbai Indians (MI), whom he no longer leads. With the likes of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal being given chances to impress in the format, the veteran batter being excluded wouldn't have raised many eyebrows.
The selectors haven't been clear regarding Rohit's future ever since the conclusion of the 2022 T20 World Cup, so it isn't exactly a surprise that he has been picked. But he can consider himself fortunate to have gotten another go in the shortest format.