Indian Players who missed Spot In Asia Cup 2023: It is no easy job to pick a squad of 17 forget picking 15 when there is so much talent pool available to choose from. Indian selectors and the team management had a difficult task at hand when they sat down to pick the team for the Asia Cup. The 17-member squad plus a reserve is a fair reflection of the team’s direction and is consistent with the team’s selection over the last couple of series.
But there are a few players who might have felt hard done as they missed out on a selection berth. It is just the abundance of the player pool that makes it difficult for everyone to slot in.
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Indian Players who missed Spot In Asia Cup 2023 – We look at a few unlucky players who missed out:
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal
He was one of the indispensable members of the squad in the last ODI World Cup in 2019. Yuzvendra Chahal’s wizardry though has taken a beating after the World Cup, especially at the international level. He is no longer the team’s number one spinner in white-ball cricket with Kuldeep Yadav beating him comfortably to that spot. Chahal’s ability to outfox the batsmen seems to be on the wane.
It isn’t just his primary skill that has proven to be his undoing as the captain mentioned. India can’t afford to have multiple bowlers who can’t bat. It is this factor that has ruled him out of contention for the Asia Cup. And it is quite likely that he will be ignored for the World Cup too. If this happens, it will be Chahal’s third straight ICC World Cup omission (T20 2021, T20 2022, and ODI 2023).
#2 Washington Sundar
He was a big part of India’s plans especially post the pandemic. Washington Sundar brought a lot of street smartness into the game. He played a key role in India’s 3-0 ODI sweep over New Zealand earlier in the year. Sundar played a dazzling cameo with the bat when India toured New Zealand for the white-ball series. He is someone who was entrusted with bowling in the powerplay and also expected to don the containing role. Sundar was evolving as a solid number 7-8 option for India. But post the IPL, he seems to have fallen from the selection radar.
He could have been a handful against a side with left-hander heavy top-order. But he is quite a few yards behind the queue in the selection fray. His senior pro, Ravichandran Ashwin in fact seems to be the odds’ favourite to make the side if they chose to pick an off-spinner.
#1 Shikhar Dhawan
Just 12 months ago, Shikhar Dhawan was leading the national side to a clean sweep over West Indies in the 3-match ODI series. He formed a potent combination with Shubman Gill at the top. Dhawan though has not played an international game since the Bangladesh tour in December last year. He was found wanting against the off-spin of Mehidy Hasan Miraz. But Dhawan time and again has shown that he is a player for big occasions.
He has come good in all ICC ODI tournaments so far. The Asia Cup would have been an apt platform to test his credentials. But as the selectors pointed out the opening spot already has a surplus with Rohit Sharma, Gill, and Ishan Kishan doing the heavy lifting. If Dhawan doesn’t make it to the World Cup squad, it will surely mark the end of an era!
