5 Deserving Players Who Missed Out On The India's Squad For The Tour Of Australia

The BCCI picked the squad for all three formats on Monday for the tour of Australia, making some interesting choices of players for the same. While Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma could most likely be drafted to the team at a later stage after recovering from injuries, there were other omissions too. The same has sparked debates all over social media.

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Despite some fruitful IPL performances and consistent domestic outings, there were a handful of players who did not get the nod. These cricketers deserved an opportunity in the biggest stage and against one of the toughest opponents under testing conditions. They could have thrived under the challenge and the pressure as they did in the IPL.

We take a look at five deserving players, who missed out on the squad announced for India’s tour of Australia:

Krunal Pandya:

Krunal Pandya has starred in 18 T20Is for India picking up 14 wickets at an economy rate of 8.11 along with a batting strike rate of 131.52. The left-arm spinner has only five wickets in 11 IPL 2020 games; however, he has a handy economy rate of 7.60 for Mumbai Indians this year.

The 29-year old could have been a crucial player for the Indian team, considering that Kuldeep Yadav is not in the best of the forms and Varun Chakravarthy not being entirely cut out for international cricket. It is also imperative to remember that Krunal took four wickets in the 3rd T20I in Sydney in 2018, earning him the man of the match award.

Ravichandran Ashwin:

Ravichandran Ashwin’s name was apparent in the Test squad as he is India’s first-choice spinner in Test cricket. Nevertheless, Ravichandran Ashwin’s performances in IPL also warranted a second chance in limited-overs cricket for India. So far, the off-spinner has eight wickets in ten games.

The 34-year old has not only helped in curbing the run-flow with excellent line and lengths but also threatened wickets. As a senior off-spinner, Ashwin has complimented Axar Patel quite well. The veteran off-spinner, who last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017, could have asked some tough questions to the Australians.

Ishan Kishan:

Ishan Kishan has been knocking on the Indian selectors’ doors for quite a while now. Ishan Kishan is an attacking keeper-batsman, who has performed for the Mumbai Indians as an opener and middle-order batsman. In nine matches this year, the southpaw has 298 runs at a strike rate of 142.57.

The selectors could have gambled by picking Ishan Kishan in T20Is instead of Sanju Samson, who has not had a fruitful international career so far. In the shortest format, the 22-year old has a couple of centuries and strikes at 132.45. Hence, Kishan was very much worth the gamble.

Axar Patel:

Axar Patel was one of the most notable missing players from the limited-overs squad and reports suggested of him getting the nod. Axar Patel might not have enjoyed a glorious international career; however, he has impressed in IPL 2020, both with the bat and ball for Delhi Capitals.

The left-arm spinner has an economy rate of 6.17, which is one of the best in the tournament and is highly effective during the powerplay. Along with that, Patel also has eight wickets in ten games at a reasonable average of 27. The 26-year old is also a sweet striker of the ball as he displayed against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah.

Suryakumar Yadav:

Suryakumar Yadav not receiving a call-up to the limited-overs squad was perhaps the most significant shocker and sparked widespread debates amongst former cricketers. Suryakumar Yadav has been a prolific batsman has consistently scored over 400 runs in the last two seasons of IPL.

Yadav also remains in line for more than 300 runs in IPL 2020 and has a strike rate of 148.95 in the current edition. The 30-year old is a veteran of 160 T20s with 17 fifties under his belt and could play sensibly as well as explosively according to the situation. Hence, he indeed deserved a chance.

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