T20 World Cup 2020: 5 players who might not feature in India's playing XI
With the men's T20 World Cup 2020 already in sight, the management of all the international sides would be busy in trying out various permutations and combinations to figure out a title-winning team. Cricketing giants such as Australia, England, New Zealand and India have more or less balanced combinations, but they surely wouldn't want to rule out anything just yet.
With sides like South Africa going through major shakedowns such as the axing of veteran Faf du Plessis and appointment of Quinton de Kock as skipper, it is clear as day that every team is in it to win it. Sides like Bangladesh may even look to try out some of their star players as part of their promising young talented side that recently won the Under-19 World Cup.
The Indian cricket team, in particular, would be very confident of their chances in the tournament, given their recent 5-0 series win against the Blackcaps in New Zealand. However, that doesn't in any way mean that the Men in Blue don't have their own issues with respect to team selection.
As convincing as the series victory against New Zealand was, it did bring into light some of the issues that could possibly haunt India in the World Cup. With the team having fallen victim to the 'semifinals curse' in the last few tournaments, the management would want to leave no stone unturned.
While they may have a problem of plenty in virtually all departments, the selectors and coach would have to make some tough calls in order to find the winning combination. This would include the axing of some big names that have either come in with a ton of hype behind them, or mainstays who just haven't delivered.
On that note, here are five players who might miss out from featuring in the playing XI of the Indian team.
#5 Kedar Jadhav
The 34-year-old batsman from Maharashtra, once regarded as India's solution to the 360 phenomenon sweeping (and reverse sweeping) by the cricketing universe is neither as effective nor as explosive as once was.
Kedar Jadhav was rated highly as a finisher, and also as someone who could also chip in with a couple of overs, if any of the main bowlers had a bad day. On his day, he'd even be able to work his way to a wicket with his golden arm. Injuries in recent time have ensured that he watches the action from the bench, and this irregularity has also impacted his performances during games.
The batsman does come with experience, but when the runs aren't coming and haven't been on display for a while, something's got to give. Manish Pandey, who is game ready and has been in good form throughout the last year with respect to both domestic as well as international T20s could be a likely replacement.
Another option could be Suryakumar Yadav, who bats around the same position as Jadhav can be given a go. Of course, he'd have to be tested in game situations first, but given his domestic form over the last couple of years, one could say he's been knocking on the selectors' doors for a while now.