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After the conclusion of the Indian Premier League, the focus now shifts to the international calendar. This year's big event in the game of cricket is the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
Every country has started its preparations for that event, and India is no exception to that. The Indian team is set to play 13 T20s as their build-up towards the T20 WC. India is set to play matches against Ireland (two), England (three), West Indies (five), and Australia (three) slated between now and the start of the tournament on October 16.
In the South African series, many first team players were rested and fringe players were given a chance to showcase their talent. Indian coach Rahul Dravid had said, "I was telling the guys that they have to bang the door down," This means all players have got a clear-cut chance to catch that flight to Australia if they can handle the pressure on the big stage and perform for their country.
With so many names circling around for that final list of 15, we look at some players who might miss out on that flight to Australia.
5 Indian players who will not feature in the T20 World Cup
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad
The first name that comes to mind, unfortunately, is that of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Last year, Gaikwad came into the limelight for his stellar performance for Chennai Super Kings in their title-winning campaign. Since then, Gaikwad has had opportunities to play for India, but he has failed to make a mark on those. In IPL 2022 as well, Gaikwad had a mixed season.
He was hot and cold for CSK this season and failed to maintain consistency. Ruturaj also got a run of five games in the recently concluded T20 series where he could only manage one 50+ score in 5 innings. Considering India has got a talented pool of openers, only 3 will be aboard that final flight. It is highly unlikely that Ruturaj Gaikwad will be on that plane and thus might miss out.
2. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi was the backbone for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. He was Mr. Consistent for them and scored runs every time his team needed him to. Tripathi managed to score 400 plus runs at a healthy strike rate of 158.24 for SRH. Owing to this consistent performance, he has earned a maiden call-up to the Indian team for the upcoming series against Ireland. Tripathi, though, is a strong contender for that middle order or perhaps as that backup opener, but it's highly unlikely that he will make that final list to Australia.
3. Venkatesh Iyer
He was the blue-eyed boy for Indian fans when it came to that sixth bowling option. Venkatesh Iyer had a stellar last year for KKR when he announced himself to the world. Since then, life has shown him the hard way. Venkatesh failed to perform in whatever limited opportunities he got for the Indian team. This season, he was totally out of form for KKR. He only managed to score 182 runs in 12 innings for them. He was even dropped from the side on a few occasions.
With Hardik Pandya fully fit and in form with both bat and ball, Venkatesh Iyer's spot as that sixth bowling option is in danger and, unfortunately, he might be another player who might not feature in the Indian team for this upcoming T20 WC.
4. Ravichandran Ashwin
Don’t be surprised to see this name on this list. Ashwin had just returned to India's white-ball setup. Ashwin also had a good season for the Rajasthan Royals with the ball. He along with Yuvzendra Chahal were a formidable duo at RR which helped them to reach their first finals after 2008. But considering the World Cup is in Australia, where the grounds are big enough for spinners and the wrist spin duo of India Kulcha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuvzendra Chahal) are back in form, they will be preferred over senior pro like Ashwin.
With Jadeja occupying the third spinner spot in the main list of 15, it looks like Ashwin might miss out on that plane to Australia.
5. Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy was part of the Indian Squad for the 2021 T20 WC. Now a year down the line, he has slipped in form and is totally looking out of contention for that final list of 15. Varun Chakravarthy was regarded as the mystery spinner (trump card) for India during the last World Cup just a few months back. He was even retained by KKR this year but failed to make a mark for himself in the IPL.
He was blowing hot and cold and was even dropped from the KKR playing XI. Chakravarthy’s performance in the recently concluded IPL was disappointing by his standards. He managed just 6 wickets in 11 games for KKR. With Varun Chakravarthy, another aspect one needs to consider is his injuries, especially his knees. Considering his poor form and his fitness issue, the mystery boy last year might not feature in this year's T20 WC.