3 players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series ft. Abhishek Sharma
Team India have announced their squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, which will commence on July 27 in Pallekele. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Men in Blue in the assignment.
The squad features a couple of interesting selections. Shubman Gill has been named the vice-captain ahead of Hardik Pandya, while Riyan Parag has retained his spot despite not contributing much in Zimbabwe.
T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
At the same time, there were a few names who arguably deserved to be in the mix but missed out. On that note, here are three players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series.
#3 Varun Chakaravarthy
The selectors don't have much faith in Varun Chakaravarthy, but the truth is that he's a unique T20 bowler with immense quality. A star in the Indian Premier League over the last two seasons, the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner has been molding himself into a top performer.
Gautam Gambhir would've worked closely with Chakaravarthy in IPL 2024, but the spinner hasn't made the grade even though Kuldeep Yadav has been rested. India could've used an additional frontline spinner for a Sri Lanka tour, especially one as threatening and economical as the Tamil Nadu man.
#2 Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma wrote himself into the T20I record books as he smashed his maiden century in Zimbabwe recently. However, the explosive opening batter hasn't been picked in the contingent to tour Sri Lanka later this month.
As one of the country's most exciting white-ball prospects, Abhishek has shone over the last few months, not just in the African nation but in the IPL as well. The Men in Blue could've used a backup opener in the squad, especially one who can chip in with a few overs of spin.
#1 Harshit Rana
Harshit Rana has been picked in the ODI squad to tour Sri Lanka, and that's a welcome move. As an exciting talent who has all the tools in his locker, the youngster needs to be given a good run of games at the international level.
However, Rana hasn't been picked in the format which brought him to prominence, T20s. The 22-year-old was one of the finds of IPL 2024, with his pace, variations, and smarts producing several wins for the Knight Riders. There's a decent degree of batting ability in there somewhere as well.
Khaleel Ahmed, who was rather unimpressive in Zimbabwe and has a lower ceiling than Rana at this point, has been picked instead. India should've punted on the younger, more talented bowler.