England vs India 2018: 5 Players Who Missed Out on Selection for Remaining Two Tests

The BCCI had announced the India squad for the remaining two Tests against England on Wednesday.

Young 18-year old Prithvi Shaw got his first break into international cricket along with Hanuma Vihari. Prithvi has been an exciting talent and has already smashed seven first-class centuries in just 14 matches. He also led the India U-19 team to the World Cup victory earlier in the year.

Prithvi Shaw is raw and talented and hence was backed by the selectors for the openers spot in England.

However, after a horrendous run in the first two Tests, Murali Vijay got dropped from the squad in favour of Prithvi Shaw. Young chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav who had taken England by storm during the white-ball series also got overlooked in favour of Hanuma Vihari.

However, many promising talents couldn’t find a spot. Some of the players had consistently scored runs and hence rued their missed opportunity.

Here are five possible players who missed out on an opportunity to make it to the India squad for two remaining Tests against England – 

Mayank Agarwal

The opening batsman has been scoring tons of runs in the domestic circuit and was in contention for a national selection. Mayank has outscored Prithvi Shaw in most of the season but has still missed out on his maiden opportunity in the Indian Test team.

However, Prithvi is a sensational talent and might be the perfect choice for the tour of England. Mayank Agarwal has been a prolific run-scorer for India A.

He has scored big runs and has been quite brilliant in the temperamental department. Mayank will look to score some more runs and make sure the selectors get wholly convinced in selecting him.

Mohammed Siraj

The right-arm fast bowler has made his name after consistent performances in the domestic circuit. It was during his county stint when he uprooted the stumps of former English skipper Alastair Cook.

Though Cook is nowhere close to where he was during his prime, he is still a big wicket any day. Hence, it would have given Siraj a lot of confidence.

Mohammed Siraj was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad in the IPL 2018 and performed reasonably, as he didn’t do justice to his reputation. However, Siraj impressed on occasions and helped Bangalore almost seal their place in the playoffs.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been around the circuit for a year now. The Mumbai batsman had already made his international debut in the shorter formats.

However, Iyer will be hoping for a maiden Test cap pretty soon after missing out in the ongoing series. He has a lot of time left with him and can concentrate on getting focused on the domestic circuit and come fully prepared in the Test format.

Shreyas Iyer has been quite impressive as a batsman for India A and will look to continue his remarkable run. He was handed over the captaincy of the Delhi Daredevils squad after Gautam Gambhir resigned from his post and he led admirably.

Though he couldn’t quite help Delhi qualify for the playoffs, they defeated the likes of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to finish their tournament.

Rohit Sharma

The limited-overs opener might rue the missed opportunity. Since Rohit Sharma has never managed to score huge runs in the offshore conditions, the call was on the cards.

However, Rohit has looked in great touch during the white-ball format, and after two below-par performances from the openers in Tests, Rohit might have been given an opportunity at the top of the order.

Sharma had said a few days earlier he won’t mind opening in Tests if given the opportunity.

However, Rohit is a superb limited-overs batsman and hence he will at least try and get his Test career back on track. He has been given enough opportunities in the past, but he has not been able to pounce on the breaks.

Krunal Pandya

The left-arm all-rounder, Krunal Pandya was named in the T20I squad for the series against England. Though he didn’t play a match even getting selected, it indicated his breakthrough is around the corner. The Mumbai Indians all-rounder had shown promise in the past as well.

Plying his trade in the IPL for a few years now, the finger spinner and a handy lower-order batsman, Krunal Pandya has impressed one and all. However, he is currently playing for India A in the Quadrangular series, including India B, South Africa A and Australia A.