Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma among others will miss out India’s upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. (AFP)
Some interesting names will miss out on India’s upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka despite putting in performances.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India have announced the squad that will take part in the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka that is slated to begin later in July. With the T20I set-up in need of a big reset following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, some big names have certainly missed the cut.
The Indian cricket team will take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series that will take place at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium from July 27 to July 30.
Take a look at some of the big names that missed out on India’s T20I squad for the Sri Lanka series:
Mukesh Kumar
The right-arm quick bowler had a fairly decent outing on their recent tour to Zimbabwe. He managed to pick up a total of eight wickets in the three games he participated in Harare, yet he has now missed out on a spot with the likes of Khaleel Ahmed making a return to the side.
READ MORE: 3 Players Dropped From Indian Team For Sri Lanka ODIs
Dhruv Jurel
After making a strong case as a wicketkeeper in the Test format, Jurel has since made his debut in the T20I series against Zimbabwe recently. But he has not had much of a chance to contribute with the bat in the two games he had featured. He has only scored six runs.
Avesh Khan
The right-arm pacer from Indore has been a regular wicket-taker with the ball and has a knack for bowling at the death overs. While he can be expensive at times, he can also prove to be the difference. But this time he has not been selected despite taking six wickets in the three games he played in the Zimbabwe series. This is due to the return of the senior players like Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh both of whom were part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Gaikwad continues to be looked past as a genuine contender to be India’s top-order batter. The batter from Pune has racked up a fairly impressive record in the T20I format. He has scored a total of 633 runs with an average of 39.56 and a strike rate of 143.53. He was also able to showcase his versatility batting at the number three spot in the Zimbabwe tour but still continues to be overlooked.
Abhishek Sharma
After a blistering season in the recent IPL season, Abhishek finally got his maiden India call-up and had a fairly decent show in Harare. Despite falling for a four-ball duck on debut, he managed to come back and show the world his prowess with the bat as he scored a swashbuckling century which came in just 48 balls. With the retirements of Rohit and Kohli, it remains to be seen how India will produce the next generation of superstars.
The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav were part of the Indian squad in the T20 World Cup but have not been picked for the T20I setup.
India’s Full T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj
