Surprise omissions in India's T20 World Cup squad
The squad saw a few surprising selections but even more surprising omissions, triggering intense debates on social media platforms.
Team India (Photo/ANI)
NEW DELHI: Point is there was no case against me": NCP's Praful Patel on 'washing machine' jibe The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the West Indies and the US. The squad saw a few surprising selections but even more surprising omissions, triggering intense debates on social media platforms. Here’s a look at the players who did not find berths in India’s World Cup squad:
KL Rahul
The India wicketkeeper-batter has been consistent for the Men in Blue but for the last few months, he has been displaying a sloppy performance after sustaining an injury. He made his T20 debut in 2016 against Zimbabwe following which he scored 4569 runs after playing in 128 matches and 119 innings for India in the 20-over format.
Rinku Singh
India batter Rinku Singh's omission from the 15-member squad was one of the most shocking news since the 26-year-old has performed well whenever he got a chance to play for the Men in Blue. Rinku made his T20 debut in 2023 against Ireland, following that he has played 15 matches and 11 innings in which he scored 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.24. The left-handed batter played his last 20-over match for India against Afghanistan in January 2024.
Shubman Gill
Shubman made his T20I debut in 2023 against Sri Lanka following that he has played 14 matches and scored 335 runs at a strike rate of 147.58. However, in IPL 2023, he took part in 17 matches in which Gill amassed 890 runs in the previous season at an average of 59.33. His mouth-watering numbers featured three centuries which served as the icing on the cake. His exclusion from the 15-member squad was another talking point on Tuesday.
Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar made his T20 debut in 2023 against South Africa. He played 14 20-over matches for India and picked up 12 wickets at an economy rate of 9.4. In the IPL, the right-arm pacer appeared in 17 matches and bagged 20 wickets.
Ravi Bishnoi
The right-arm legbreak Ravi Bishnoi made his debut for India in 2022 against West Indies and appeared in 24 matches where he picked up 36 wickets at an economy rate of 7.51. In the IPL, he has played 62 matches and took 59 wickets. Even after performing well in the 20-over format, he was not included in the 15-member squad.