5 Players Who Couldn't Justify Their Selection For Sri Lanka Series

India picked a whole bunch of youngsters for the Sri Lanka series who had a good reputation from the domestic side as well as from good performances in IPL, but most of them failed to perform. The Covid- issues in the dressing room had also worsened the situation and India was left peppering with just five batsmen in the whole squad.

However, on the positive aspect, it was a great opportunity for the youngsters to make a big statement and showcase their talents on the international stage. It did not happen and India lost a bilateral series to Sri Lanka after almost 13 years. Here are 5 players who couldn’t justify their selection for the Sri Lanka series.

5 Players Who Couldn’t Justify Their Selection For Sri Lanka Series

Nitish Rana:

Nitish Rana had a wonderful IPL season in 2021 and he has been one of the consistent run-scorers in domestic cricket as well. The left-hander is a versatile batsman who can play at the top of the order as well as in the middle order. He made his ODI debut in the final game but did not have much time to settle in.

In the T20 series, he had two opportunities to show his skills in international cricket, but he failed in both innings and he never could justify his selection for the Sri Lanka series.

Ruturaj Gaikwad:

Ruturaj Gaikwad is one of the IPL sensations and he was picked in the squad after some excellent performances at the top of the order for Chennai Super Kings. With India carrying four openers, Gaikwad had the least chance of making the playing XI and did not get a chance in the ODI series.

However, in the T20I series, the doors were open for him in the second and third T20I, but he failed to capitalize on both innings despite getting a chance at the top of the order. He also couldn’t justify his selection for the Sri Lanka series.

Chetan Sakariya:

Chetan Sakariya is a young talented left-arm seamer who has got exciting skills and variations in his bowling and he had a good debut IPL for the Rajasthan Royals which earned him a place in the tour of Sri Lanka. He was handed an ODI debut in the third game and he had a good outing with 2 wickets at crucial stages.

However, in the T20I series, he did not have a big impact in the second T20I where he conceded runs in the powerplay. He didn’t bowl in the third T20I which shows that the captain did not have confidence in him in a low-scoring game. He couldn’t justify his selection as a result.

Devdutt Padikkal:

Devdutt Padikkal was one of the talking points in the IPL and he has impressed the most from his stints with RCB as well as in the domestic season. The left-hander has been piling up runs whenever he had opportunities and he was an obvious choice for the Sri Lanka series.

However in the two outings, he got in the second and third T20Is, he never looked comfortable and had issued playing the spinners. The 20-year-old still has so much to offer, but couldn’t justify his selection at present.

Sanju Samson:

Sanju Samson hasn’t had the best of starts to his international T20 career certainly, and it had worsened a lot more in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka. Samson did enjoy his ODI debut though scoring a 46 run knock and showed good signs in the first T20 scoring 27 off 20 balls.

But in the last two T20Is, he has been far from being impressive and has been averaging 11.7 in 10 T20I games which are going to be a major worry for him. He will be eyeing for a good IPL to keep his hopes alive for a spot in the Indian team again.