Picture Credit: BCCI
With the T20 World Cup approaching in October this year, Team India will have a big task in hand with respect to selecting the championship-winning squad. Having not won an ICC tournament since 2013, the Men in Blue are expected to leave no stones unturned to lift the ultimate glory this year. There is a huge pool of talent in the Indian cricket circuit right now and with so many upcoming youngsters, some big names might miss out from the final 18-member squad. Check out the list of players who might not feature in India's squad for this year's T20 World Cup.
1. Manish Pandey
The stylish right-handed batsman has gone down the pecking order for India in T20 format because of his strike-rate issues. Manish Pandey was even dropped from Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 because of the same reason and with players like Suryakumar Yadav knocking the doors, the 31-year-old is expected to be excluded from the World Cup squad. Pandey played his last T20I for India against Australia in December 2020, where he scored 2 runs off 8 deliveries and was dropped from the next match.
2. Kuldeep Yadav
The left-arm chinaman bowler has completely gone out of favour for Team India in T20 cricket. Kuldeep Yadav did not even get an opportunity to play for Kolkata Knight Riders this season and considering the present situation, it seems like Yuzvendra Chahal and Rahul Chahar are the two preferred spin bowlers for Virat Kohli's side. Unless the 26-year-old can come up with a heroic performance ahead of the mega-event, Yadav is very likely to miss out from Team India's squad for World Cup.
3. Ishan Kishan
The young and dynamic wicketkeeper announced his arrival to T20I cricket in style after scoring a fantastic fifty on his debut against England. However, things went slightly downhill for Ishan Kishan since then. The 22-year-old could manage to score only 73 runs in 5 matches for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 before getting dropped from the side. With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul already there, Kishan might have to battle it out with Sanju Samson for the third wicketkeeper slot in the squad.
4. Navdeep Saini
One of the fastest bowlers in India right now - Navdeep Saini has had a few tough months since his back spasm problem that he suffered. The 28-year-old has gone out of favour from both India and Royal Challengers Bangalore and has been struggling to find a place in the playing XI. With bowlers like Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah already in the ranks, it is very likely that Saini might be left out of the squad for the mega-event.
5. Shivam Dube
The all-rounder has played 13 T20Is for India and was once being looked at as Hardik Pandya's perfect replacement. However, Shivam Dube has failed to make an impact in the limited opportunities he has been handed and has gone out of the radar of selectors. With players like Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya contributing with both bat and ball, Team India might not look at the option of Shivam Dube for the T20 World Cup.