India vs Australia 2017: 5 players who were unlucky to miss out in India's T20I squad
Almost immediately after the conclusion of the ODI series, India have announced their squad for the upcoming 3-match T20I series against Australia. The three matches are slated to take place on October 7, 10 and 13 at Ranchi, Guwahati and Hyderabad respectively.
The Virat Kohli-led squad contains a few surprising picks like Ashish Nehra and Dinesh Karthik alongside the usual suspects. With the next World T20 (in Australia) less than three years away, the Indian selectors need to identify their core group by providing opportunities to those players who are likely to feature in that tournament.
Here are five players who can consider themselves extremely unlucky to have missed out on a spot in India's T20I squad in the upcoming series against Australia.
#5 Suresh Raina
A veteran of 65 international T20 matches, Suresh Raina possesses a significant amount of experience in white-ball cricket. Even though the southpaw's recent form has not been particularly encouraging, he could have bolstered the middle-order with his fluent stroke-play.
The vulnerability in the middle-order has meant that the Indian batting lineup is heavily dependant on the top three to establish a strong foundation in almost every game. With the number four position being very crucial to a team's batting fortunes in the shortest format, Raina might have been a better contender for the job. Adding his fielding and handy part-time off-spin to the equation, the 30-year-old is a valuable limited-overs cricketer.