4 Indians who may never play T20I cricket again
India are currently the No.2 T20I side in the ICC rankings. The team has come a long way from being a nation who was reluctant to play the shortest format to one of the leading teams in the format. Previously, the Men in Blue used to play a maximum of 4 T20Is every year (except WT20). It was for the first time in 2015 that India hosted a full-fledged 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The growth of T20 cricket in India can be attributed to the IPL which has thrown numerous talents. These talents have been nurtured to world-class players today. They are capable of winning matches against any team anywhere across the globe.
Saying so, some cricketers who were already doing well in the Test and ODI team found it extremely challenging to adapt to the standards of the T20 cricket. Despite being given a long rope, these players failed to deliver and find themselves out of the national contention.
Let us take a look at 4 players who may never represent India again in the shortest format.
#4 Mohammed Shami
Once looked upon as an exciting prospect in abbreviated formats of the game, Shami's limited-overs career has completely gone off the boil and is currently out of the ODI and T20I setup.
Coming from a breed of pure Test-match bowlers, Mohammed Shami's biggest drawback has been his length in T20 cricket. Shami might be a master at bowling good-length in Test match cricket, but the same length is bread and butter for batsmen in the shortest format of the game.
The Bengal pacer played a few T20Is for India in the ICC WT20 2014, but other than that, he has never played T20I cricket consistently. In 7 games, Shami has 8 wickets at an expensive economy of 10.55.
Looking at these performances, it is unlikely that he will represent India in T20I cricket ever again. His last appearance came against the West Indies at Jamaica in July 2017. India currently has a crop of specialist pacers in T20 cricket like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Siddharth Kaul. These pacers with a proven track record make Shami's return in T20I's a bit difficult.