5 Unexpected Players Who Might Feature In Team India At The ICC T20 World Cup 2020

Apart from the home and away series in the year 2020, the Indian cricket team has also kept an eye on the ICC T20 World Cup 2020, due to be held in Australia from October.

While India did beat New Zealand 5-0 in the T20I series away from home, there’s a feeling within the cricketing fraternity that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season will have a big impact on who makes the cut for T20 World Cup squad.

Having said that, there are some players who could be included in the squad for the T20 World Cup, despite not being in the Indian team right now.

Today, we will be talking about five unexpected players who could be selected for India’s squad at the T20 World Cup:

5) Shreyas Gopal

Rajasthan Royals‘ all-rounder Shreyas Gopal can be an inspiration for young players to follow. He has come a long way since making his debut in the IPL in 2014. Playing in the Ranji Trophy, Gopal has groomed himself to become a better player with both the bat and ball.

In his short IPL career, the 26-year-old has played 31 matches wherein he has scored just 127 runs.

However, Gopal has been very effective with the ball, picking up 38 wickets at an economy of 7.5. Having earlier plied his trade for Mumbai Indians (MI), he could be the wildcard for team India at the T20 World Cup.

The kind of talent he has, Gopal could be included in India’s squad as an all-rounder in the place of Hardik Pandya or Ravindra Jadeja.

4) Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has been a loyal servant to Indians over the years. He has the ability to open the innings, whilst he can act as a middle-order batsman too. This versatility could come handy if India decides to gamble on Yadav ahead of the T20 World Cup.

The 29-year-old has played 85 IPL matches, scoring 1544 runs with an average of 28 and strike rate of 131.

The right-handed batsman is known for his big shots and Yadav can play the role of a finisher as well. He has previously played for India ‘A’ as well, so the selectors do know about Yadav’s ability.

Therefore, if he has a good season in IPL 2020, the batsman from Mumbai could force his way into India’s squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia.

3) Ishan Kishan

Hailing from MS Dhoni’s Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan has abilities very similar to that of the former Indian skipper. He is still awaiting his debut, but the wicketkeeper-batsman could give selectors a headache ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Kishan currently plays for Indians and he has amassed 37 caps in the IPL so far. He has scored 695 runs in the league, with an average of 21 and a strike rate of 130.

Having previously turned out for India ‘A’ Kishan could soon make the jump to the senior team, given he impresses in the upcoming IPL season.

India backed young Vijay Shankar for the 2019 ODI World Cup and similarly, Kishan could be one of the unexpected players to be included in the T20 World Cup squad.

2) Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik helped India win the Nidahas Cup in 2018, with a match-winning knock in 2018, which will forever be remembered as one of his most noteworthy contributions the Indian team.

That is because Karthik’s career never really took off due to the presence of MS Dhoni.

Now that the former Indian captain is not in the forefront, could the wicketkeeper-batsman be given another chance? He was included in the squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup, and the 34-year-old has been leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL.

As an experienced campaigner, Karthik can surely find a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad, but he’ll have to impress everyone with his performances at the IPL 2020.

Karthik could be one of the unexpected players to feature for India at the upcoming World Cup.

1) Suresh Raina

Renowned by the name of ‘Mr IPL’, Suresh Raina will also be gunning for a place in the Indian team given he last played an international match back in 2018.

In IPL 2020, Raina will return in the famous yellow jersey of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and on the back of an impressive track record in the domestic league, the 33-year-old could be one of the unexpected players to feature for Indian at the T20 World Cup.

A few weeks ago, Raina did express his desire of representing India at the World Cup, and it would perhaps be a fitting farewell to a man who has given so much to team India over the years.