4 Players who should've got selected in India's T20I squad for West Indies tour

Hardik Pandya will lead the 15-member India squad against West Indies in the 5-match T20I series.

The BCCI, on July 5, 2023, announced the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series against West Indies which saw Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal getting their maiden call-ups, while veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, along with Ravindra Jadeja were not picked.

The BCCI selection committee under the new chief Ajit Agarkar gave preference to new faces. Hardik Pandya is set to lead the Indian squad and be groomed for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the same venue in 2024. Suryakumar Yadav is the vice-captain of the side, with Shubman Gill also being named in the side.

The five-match T20I series starts at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on August 3. Guyana will stage the second and third T20Is on August 6 and August 8 respectively. The T20I series concludes in Lauderhill, Florida with a blockbuster weekend of back-to-back matches on August 12 and August 13 at Broward County Cricket Stadium.

Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, and newcomer Mukesh Kumar will take responsibility for the pace bowling attack. As for the spinners, Hardik Pandya will have the choices of Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav to choose from.

Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been named as the wicket-keepers.

India T20I squad against West Indies:

Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

However, despite the fact that Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI selectors gave importance to the young names and particularly those who did well in the IPL and in its most recent editions, there were a few names that missed out and raised a lot of eyebrows.

Here we look at four such names who should've got selected in India's T20I squad for West Indies tour:

Rinku Singh

The biggest surprise name missing from the Indian squad was Rinku Singh. The left-hander from Uttar Pradesh was one of the highlights in the recent IPL 2023, thanks to his record of five sixes in five balls against Gujarat Titans.

Not only that, he amassed his career-best 475 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 149.35 and an average of 59.25. He hit 31 fours and 29 sixes and was one of the brightest spots for otherwise poor performance from KKR in the tournament.

Given his outing with the bat and his domestic record apart from IPL, his name was rumored to be on the BCCI selectors’ radar. But he missed out on the senior India team selection.

Akash Madhwal

Akash Madhwal made quite a name for himself in the IPL 2023, as he was given the role of a death bowler by Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and later Jofra Archer as well.

Madhwal rose to the occasion on his IPL debut and picked 14 wickets with a best of 5/5, with his bowling figures being in the all-time top 5 best bowling stats in IPL history. His raw pace awed everyone and he was looked at as the answer to India’s speed problem.

But somehow, Avesh Khan was picked over him, despite an indifferent outing in the IPL 2023 and Madhwal will have to wait for his chance to don the Indian jersey.

Mohit Sharma

IPL 2023 was a tournament where veteran cricketers and forgotten names made triumphant comebacks and one of them was former Purple Cap winner Mohit Sharma.

Once a long-term part of the Indian team under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, Mohit Sharma fell behind in the race due to injuries and form issues. He was then seen as a net bowler for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022 and impressed them enough to be picked in the IPL 2023 auction.

He turned out to be a gem of a call for GT as in 14 matches, Mohit took 27 wickets, narrowly missing another Purple Cap with a best bowling 5/10 and economy of 8.17.

Many felt this was enough to earn a recall in the Indian team, atleast in T20Is, but with the overflow of young talents waiting for their chances, the selectors ignored his experience and named a pretty raw pace attack for West Indies T20Is.  

Jitesh Sharma

Vidarbha’s Jitesh Sharma made people sit up and notice his belligerent hitting skills for Punjab Kings for two IPL seasons now. In IPL 2022, he made 234 runs at a strike rate of 163.04 with 12 sixes and 22 fours, apart from keeping wickets brilliantly.

He upped the ante in IPL 2023, where he made 309 runs and this time hit 21 sixes at a strike rate of 156.06. He had already experienced the Indian dressing room when he was picked as the backup keeper during the Sri Lanka T20I series at home.

With Rishabh Pant out of action and Ishan Kishan struggling against spinners with the bat at home, many felt it was time for Jitesh to be blooded into the Men in the Blue side. However, the selection committee has shown faith in Ishan Kishan’s abilities and has instead picked Sanju Samson as the second keeper-batter.

It seems like Jitesh will have to wait for his chance to don the Indian jersey.