India vs New Zealand 2021: 3 Indian Players Who Didn’t Deserve A Spot In The T20 Squad

The Indian selection committee sat down on Tuesday to finalize a 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting from 17^th November 2021.

The series will mark the start of the Rahul Dravid-Rohit Sharma era. Rohit Sharma is all set to lead the Indian Cricket Team in the shortest format, while KL Rahul will be his deputy. The senior members of the team such as Virat Kohli, M Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested from the squad.

Interestingly, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Chahar have been left out from the squad. KKR cricketer, Venkatesh Iyer has been given the opportunity. He is likely to fill the role of an all-rounder in the team. Given the kind of performances he dished out for KKR in the second leg of IPL 2021, he certainly deserved the place in the team. However, there are a few players who are selected in the squad despite not being in the best of form of late.

And on that note, we look at three Indian players who didn’t deserve a spot in India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20 series against New Zealand:

India vs New Zealand 2021: 3 Indian Players Who Didn’t Deserve A Spot In The T20 Squad

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

It won’t be wrong to say that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is past his prime. He looked a pale shadow of his former self in the IPL 2021 and also in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

He was given only one match against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, in which he gave away 25 runs in 3 overs. Bhuvneshwar has lost pace and hasn’t been swinging the ball too much either.

Not playing him after the match against Pakistan and then selecting him for the T20 series against New Zealand is perhaps unfathomable. And looking at Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent performances, his selection doesn’t look deserving.

Mohammed Siraj

Much like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Siraj’s recent performances don’t inspire a lot of confidence either. Siraj is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Test Cricket. However, he hasn’t done too well with the white ball.

In IPL 2021, he managed to claim only 11 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 32.09. India don’t have a variety in their bowling attack. Someone like Arshdeep Singh in place of M Siraj could have added a left-arm seam option in the fast-bowling department.

Avesh Khan

Avesh Khan had a wonderful outing in the first leg of IPL 2021 in India. He managed to pick 24 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 18.75. He bowled at an impressive average and economy of 18.75 and 7.37 respectively. However, with four pacers already in the squad, you don’t seem to find the need to add another one in a three-match T20I series. India currently need to find suitable options for the role of a finisher.

Instead of going for a seamer, the selectors could have thought of adding someone who could bat at number 5 or 6 in the batting line-up. With the T20 World Cup coming next year, the focus should rather be on finding candidates for the role of a finisher. And therefore, Avesh Khan’s place in the squad remains debatable.