After India’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in the Group stage, the Chetan Sharma-led Indian selection committee on Tuesday (November 9) announced the squad for the forthcoming T20I series against New Zealand.Â
The series against the Kiwis will mark the arrival of Rohit Sharma the skipper and KL Rahul as vice-captain and the side will be now under the guidance of Rahul Dravid.
The squad will, however, also see major players being rested like Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and more. While these players are rested, there are some like Venkatesh Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who due to their good impression in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has got the opportunity to make it to the squad.
However, there are some players who have been left out. Let’s have a look at the players who did not make the cut.
Varun Chakravarthy: The mystery spinner, who got the chance to play in the World Cup, could not do much as he went wicketless in the three matches he played. It also looked like he was carrying a niggle and was not fully fit and it could be one reason for his non-selection.
Hardik Pandya: While many believe he has been rested like the other players, but some have the opinion that he could most likely be axed after his performance in the World Cup. Aakash Chopra, in a video on his YouTube channel, had asked if the all-rounder even needed rest as he did not play Test cricket and even was not bowling in the IPL.
Sanju Samson: One can easily call him an unlucky cricketer as, despite Rishabh Pant being rested, he did not get picked. In fact Ishan Kishan was taken as the wicketkeeper of choice. It was now going to be even more difficult for Samson to get in with even KL Rahul knowing how to keep wickets.
India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj.
