Indian cricket is currently blessed with an insane talent pool. They are easily 15-18 pool of players available across each format. The competition for spots in limited-overs especially is intense. Young players fresh from domestic and IPL success take to international cricket as fish takes to water. The emergence of these players has pushed orthodox cricketers to the backseat. These single format specialists are now unable to stake a claim for a spot in the shortest format. let’s look at Indian Players Who Will Not Play T20I Again.
Indian Players Who Will Not Play T20I Again
#5 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has had an interesting career. He scored a truckload of runs in domestic cricket to break into the Indian team. He scored 23 centuries in domestic tournaments. Rahane was finally selected to play for India in the shorter formats in 2011. He later went on to become one of India’s key members in Tests. But Rahane’s white-ball career has fallen by the wayside. He opened for India in the 2014 and 2016 World Cups. But his lack of aggression cost him a spot on the team. Rahane’s the strike rate of 113.3 in 20 T20Is doesn’t warrant a place in the current setup. He might never be considered again for playing T20Is in Indian colors.
#4 Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is currently India’s most experienced pacer. He has played 102 Tests picking up 306 wickets. But Ishant Sharma’s limited-overs career could never take flight. His greatest moment in white-ball format is when he was part of India’s Champions Trophy-winning team in 2013. Sharma apart from that feat has little to show for in the limited-overs game. It is quite a stretch to imagine him playing for India in T20Is again.
#3 Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav’s career is the biggest could have been in Indian cricket. He started his career with a lot of promise. Yadav picked up his maiden Test 5-for at the WACA, Perth in 2011-12. Yadav since then has gone on to excite and frustrate in equal measures. He was part of India’s fast bowling trio, both in Champions Trophy (2013) and in ODI World Cup (2015). But Yadav couldn’t really cement his place as a white-ball specialist.
#2 Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Saha is one of the biggest unsung heroes of Indian cricket. His career path was first overshadowed by MS Dhoni and later Rishabh Pant overtook him. Saha boasts of a fine T20 domestic record. His numbers in IPL are pretty decent too. But Saha shockingly has never played a T20I for India. Saha aged 36 might never get a chance to do so as well.
#1 Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra is the gold standard for wrist spinners in T20I cricket. Mishra is a criminally underrated limited-overs bowler. His career was sandwiched between two eras. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were India’s two specialists in the 2000s, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took over later. Mishra as a result got to play an odd game here or there. But his numbers especially in T20Is are insane.
He has played 154 IPL games picking 166 wickets. In his 18-year long career, Mishra has just played 10 T20Is picking 16 wickets. His average is an insane 15. But, alas he isn’t even in the contention for a spot in India’s T20I squad.
Also read: 6 Indian Players Who Fought Poverty To Become Rich
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