3 players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the Australia T20I series
Team India's focus has already shifted to a five-match T20I series against Australia, just days after suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 World Cup final. The first T20I will take place in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, November 23.
Suryakumar Yadav will captain the squad, which features his World Cup teammates Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna. Shreyas Iyer will also join the contingent for the final two T20Is.
India’s squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (for last two T20Is).
While most selections in the squad were deserving ones, there were a few names whose performances in the recent past haven't merited their inclusion. It's also arguable that better alternatives were available.
Here are three Indian players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the T20I series against Australia.
#3 Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh made his T20I debut in 2022 and quickly emerged as one of the country's brighest fast-bowling prospects. He picked up 33 wickets in 21 matches that calendar year, and his economy rate was an impressive 8.17.
Since then, however, Arshdeep has gone off the boil. His consistency has let him down on several occasions, and he has become unreliable both in the middle overs and at the death.
In T20Is in 2023, Arshdeep has managed just 21 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 8.65. Even in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he picked up only 10 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 7.59, with four of those scalps coming in the same game.
India don't have many left-armers in the mix, and that might have contributed to Arshdeep's selection, but Mohsin Khan was extremely impressive in the five games he played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
#2 Mukesh Kumar
A player who has now made his international debut in all three formats, Mukesh Kumar, has made almost all of India's squads in the recent past. However, his white-ball credentials still leave a lot to be desired.
Mukesh played five games in this year's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, picking up just two wickets. He wasn't economical either, conceding less than 30 runs just once in those matches. The 30-year-old was taken for 54 runs by Vidarbha in a particularly poor outing.
In five T20Is, Mukesh has recorded three scalps at an economy rate of 8.8. What do the selectors see in his skillset for the shortest format?
#1 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has been picked as one of two wicket-keepers in the squad, with Sanju Samson excluded once again. The left-hander's T20I record is as bad as it gets, especially in the recent past.
In eight T20Is in 2023, Kishan has scored just 97 runs at an average of 12.13 and a strike rate of 89.81. He has batted at favorable positions in most of those matches, and hasn't averaged more than 30 or struck at more than 135 in any of his three years in international cricket.
Kishan is a player with immense potential, so it's not surprising that the management have faith in him. While he is bound to become a viable option in the long run, his T20I displays haven't warranted him finding a place in the squad ahead of the likes of Samson.