Team India's squad for T20 World Cup: 3 players likely to miss out
The Indian team for the 2021 T20 World Cup is likely to be picked on Wednesday. According to media reports, the All-India Senior Selection Committee will convene tomorrow to choose the players for the mega event.
Keeping the COVID-19 protocols in mind, the selectors will pick traveling reserves along with the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. The event will be played in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
The inaugural T20 World Cup champions, Team India will be among the favorites to lift the ICC title as they have a strong T20 squad. However, it would not be right to jump the gun as India have failed to win an ICC crown since 2013.
A number of Team India players will be automatic selections in the T20 World Cup squad. However, there are a few who came close but are likely to miss out when the final squad is announced.
3 Indian players who are unlikely to feature in the T20 World Cup squad
Ahead of Team India’s selection for the T20 World Cup, we take a look at players who have featured in Indian colors over the past few months but are unlikely to get a berth for the ICC event.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has had a torrid time with the Indian team of late, is unlikely to make it to the squad for the T20 World Cup. With India sending a second-string team to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series in July, Kuldeep had one last chance to stake his claim.
The 26-year-old did not perform badly. He picked up two wickets in one of the ODIs and a couple in a T20I as well. However, there was nothing sensational that could force the selectors to have a closer look at his name as a potential candidate for the T20 World Cup.
Kuldeep looked completely down and out in the ODIs against England at home as he was hammered all over the park.
On the other hand, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal all but confirmed his spot with an incisive showing in Sri Lanka. Before that, in the first half of IPL 2021 as well, he was beginning to get into the groove.
Also, Rahul Chahar stands a decent chance of making the squad ahead of Kuldeep, following his impressive efforts in Sri Lanka and the IPL.
Varun Chakravarthy, too, could feature among the reserves considering the injury status of Washington Sundar is still unclear.
#2 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has been one of the biggest disappointments of Indian cricket in recent years, along with Sanju Samson.
Considering his obvious talent, Pandey has been given a number of opportunities to prove his mettle at the international level, but has failed to grab his chances.
The 31-year-old was presented with a fresh lease of life when he was picked in the team for the tour of Sri Lanka. With a couple of good knocks, Pandey could have forced the selectors to think hard about his possible inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad.
The right-hander played all three matches in the ODI series in Lanka but returned with disappointing numbers. He registered scores of 26, 37 and 11.
Earlier, in the India leg of IPL 2021 as well, he struggled for fluency while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. It will be a big surprise if Pandey finds a spot in the T20 World Cup squad.
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#1 Shreyas Iyer
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It is unfortunate, but Shreyas Iyer also looks set to miss out on the T20 World Cup. Before getting injured during the ODI series against England, Iyer played some wonderful knocks for India in limited-overs matches.
In fact, he was one of the star performers for India in the T20I series against England, with scores of 67 and 37. He had all but sealed his berth for the T20 World Cup with those performances.
However, a painful shoulder injury ruled him out of the ODI series against England as well as the first half of IPL 2021.
Iyer is fit and raring to go in the second half of IPL 2021 in the UAE. However, with the squad for the T20 World Cup likely to be announced on Wednesday, his performance in the T20 league will have no bearing on the selectors.
It obviously seems a bit unfair on Iyer. But, choosing a batter without him being tested following recovery from injury would be a massive risk heading into a big tournament like the T20 World Cup.
India would prefer to go in with Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan.
Other Team India players who could miss out:
Sanju Samon, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, T. Natarajan, Krunal Pandya
India’s probable T20 World Cup squad
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar
Probable Reserves: Varun Chakravarthy, Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan