3 players who were lucky to be picked in India's T20I squad for the West Indies series
Team India will be without many of their frontline players across formats when they face off against the West Indies in five T20Is next month. The BCCI announced the 15-man squad for the assignment yesterday.
Hardik Pandya will lead the contingnent, which will be without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj, among others, for various reasons. Suryakumar Yadav has been named the vice-captain.
India’s T20I squad for the West Indies series: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Given that so many changes have been made, a few fringe players are bound to get opportunities. Were all of them deserved, though?
Here are three players who were lucky to be picked in India's T20I squad for the West Indies series.
#3 Mukesh Kumar
Why does Mukesh Kumar keep making India's white-ball squads? The Bengal pacer is excellent in red-ball cricket with his ability to move the ball both ways and consistency, but he hasn't shown much to prove that he can be a quality limited-overs bowler.
Mukesh had an indifferent 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign for the Delhi Capitals (DC), who gave him a long rope and used him at various stages of the innings without much return. Considered a new-ball specialist, he couldn't make an impact in the powerplay either.
India could've tried out many other pacers ahead of Mukesh, who has picked up only 32 wickets in 33 T20s at an economy rate of 8.11. He also has a highest score of 6* in the format, proving that he doesn't offer anything with the bat.
#2 Umran Malik
Umran Malik has something no one else in India does - raw pace. However, after how the last few months have been for the express pacer, does he merit a place in the national T20I side?
Umran has played eight T20Is, with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 10.48. He played only eight of the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) 14 IPL 2023 matches, scalping five wickets and going wicketless in four consecutive games to round off the campaign.
Umran is a massively exciting talent, but his game doesn't seem to be evolved enough to play T20I cricket on a regular basis as of now. The 23-year-old needs to find consistency and work on a few variations before he can become a reliable option in the format.
#1 Avesh Khan
Another player who had an indifferent IPL 2023 season, Avesh Khan has fallen off dramatically since his breakout campaign with DC. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer seems to have lost a yard of pace, with his accuracy and variations letting him down too.
Avesh picked up only eight wickets in nine IPL 2023 games, with his economy rate just a shade under 10. In the 15 T20Is he has played in for the Men in Blue, he has managed to collect 13 wickets at an economy rate of 9.1. The fast bowler's last T20I appearance was almost a year ago.
Avesh, who is currently playing in the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy, is also dealing with a shoulder injury. With both fitness and form being concerns, he can consider himself fortunate to be on the plane to the Caribbean.