Captains of two formats of cricket Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are no longer likely to feature in the Indian T20 squad in the near future as they have been left out of the 15-man squad for the five-match series against the West Indies starting in Trinidad on August 3. Which will be led by Hardik Pandya. The team, captained by Hardik, is very young with the only player over 30 being the world’s number one batsman and the team’s vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav. Tilak Verma, a talented left-handed batsman from Mumbai and Hyderabad, is the only new face in the team, having made a strong case for himself with the bat in the middle order in the last two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons.
He played in 47 matches in the IPL at a strike rate of over 142 and played the role of a facilitator in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is set to make his Test debut next week, is also part of the T20 squad after a stellar performance in the IPL. The focus is on the 50-over World Cup for the next three months and those in the know will certainly consider this a rest. But this is not the only ‘pattern’ that two strong pillars of the Indian batting have been omitted in the last three T20I series (Sri Lanka, New Zealand) including this one. As it is said in Indian cricket circles, it is not an official ouster but a gradual ouster.
Wednesday’s meeting was Ajit Agarkar’s first as chief selector of the national selection committee and there were no surprises in the squad. While for Kolkata Knight Riders, the impressive left-handed batsman Rinku Singh could not find a place in the 15-member squad. But understandably, with only a week gap between the West Indies and Ireland T20I series, there is every chance that Rinku and Vidarbha’s Jitesh Sharma will find a place in the same team along with Ruturaj Gaikwad. Wicketkeeper Jitesh lost out to Ishaan Kishan and Sanju Samson for a place in the team.
Fast bowler Avesh Khan and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi are two players who have made a comeback at the international level. Bishnoi last played for India in the Asia Cup in September and is playing first-class cricket for Gujarat this season. The team has three wrist spinners with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal also being part of the 15-man squad. Axar Patel has been included in the squad who on current form is a better T20 player than Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja has also been rested like Rohit and Kohli. In the fast bowling department, Avesh is currently playing for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, Avesh and Umran Malik will look after the responsibility of this department along with left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh. Mukesh Kumar of Bengal is the back-up fast bowler. India’s T20I squad is as follows: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav (vice-captain), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (captain), Akshar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.
