The T20I World Cup is the mega event of 2021. All the teams are leaving no stone unturned in their preparation for the tournament. The Indian team is no different. The fact that they don’t play any other T20I’s before the World Cup makes it even more intriguing. The ongoing series against England is a dress rehearsal to the main event. Indian team looks well settled and few established names are set to miss the marquee tournament.
StumpsandBails brings to you the list of 5 Indian players who we feel might not make it to the T20I World Cup
#5 Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini was touted to be the next big tearaway fast bowler for India. But in his limited appearances, Saini has flattered to deceive. His economy rate of 7.15 in international cricket and 8.28 in IPL is still fairly considerable. But Saini owing to his spate of injuries and the ability to wilt under pressure has found himself down in the pecking order. Shardul Thakur who is a handy lower batsman might pip Saini to the T20I World Cup.
#4 Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson made his T20I debut in 2015. He has just played 7 games since then. These numbers tell a story. Samson’s inconsistency has seen the likes of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav getting a chance in the England series. Both Kishan and Yadav have grabbed their chances and have made Samson’s return to the team doubly difficult.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan opened with KL Rahul in the first T20I against England. Dhawan looked all at sea facing England’s fast bowlers. He was immediately dropped for Ishan Kishan in the second T20I and hasn’t played a game since. Dhawan has a lot of competition at the top of the order with the likes of Kishan, Mayank Agarwal standing hot on his heels. Shubman Gill is another opener who might throw his hat in the ring. Currently, it does look tough for Dhawan to make the cut.
#2 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey is probably one of the most unlucky Indian cricketers. He averages an outstanding 44.3 and strikes at 126.2. But Pandey has never really managed to nail a spot in the Indian playing XI. The Indian middle-order is currently cramped with a lot of talent. Hence we believe it will be difficult for Pandey to throw his weight in.
#1 Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal was seen as India’s main spinning weapon in the limited-overs format. But his numbers in the last 2 years paint a completely different picture. His overall career economy is 8.4 while in the last two years it has been 9.4. For a strike bowler to have such a high strike rate isn’t ideal. To add to his uni-dimensional capabilities as a cricketer, we believe it will be tough for Chahal to retain his spot in the squad.
Possible replacements for Chahal:
India have a plethora of options in the spin department. Kuldeep Yadav has an economy rate of 7.11 and a strike-rate of 11.6. He can be a like for like replacement for Chahal. The other options for India in the spin department are Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Rahul Tewatia, who all are better batsmen and fielders as compared to Chahal.
