IND vs SA: On Sunday, the national selectors announced the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa. Team India will be playing home series against the Proteas post IPL.
While the KL Rahul-led squad includes some usual suspects like Deepak Hooda, Avesh Khan, and Rishabh Pant, some experienced players, including Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Dinesh Karthik returned to the Indian team. The selectors have also handed over the maiden national call-up to the youngsters like Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
However, there are also some players who deserved to be selected in the squad for the T20I squad but could not find their names on the list.
IND vs SA: 3 players who should have been selected in the Indian T20I squad
Rahul Tripathi
The question is – if not now, then when? He is not going to get any younger. Rahul Tripathi has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL in the last couple of seasons. The 31-years-old batter has the ability to dictate the proceedings in the middle and he handles the pace and the spin bowling with equal ease.
Rahul Tripathi has been in a fine form for Sunrisers Hyderabad with 413 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 158.23. He could have been a perfect replacement for Suryakumar Yadav during the middle overs.
Shikhar Dhawan
The veteran batter received a major setback in his T20I career after not finding his name in the squad for the South Africa series. In the last few years, the left-handed southpaw is two of the most consistent batters in the IPL alongside KL Rahul.
The 36-years-old batter is having another decent season with Punjab Kings as Shikhar Dhawan has amassed 421 runs in 13 matches, averaging over 38. However, his non-selection in the South African series indirectly implies that he is not among the selectors’ scheme of things for the T20I format.
Mohsin Khan
Since the retirement of Zaheer Khan, India are on the lookout for a quality left-arm pacer. In Mohsin Khan, Lucknow Super Giants have unearthed a future star of Indian cricket. Khan is tall, pacy, and accurate. His hard lengths make life tough for the batters and also he has a composed head on his shoulders.
Mohsin Khan has been a revelation for LSG this season as the pacer has accounted for 13 wickets in 8 matches. The most impressive aspect of his bowling has been his economy rate as Khan has maintained an economy rate of 5.93 this season.
