India&#8217;s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa was announced on Sunday (May 22). The 17-member squad included several performers from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). With the tournament expanding to 10 teams, it presented opportunities to a lot of star players to showcase their skills.

With the senior players rested, the selectors awarded a place on the national side to the few players in the IPL 2022 while a few others were retained. KL Rahul was named captain and Rishabh Pant the vice-captain of the side even as the players who underperformed were also selected in the Indian team for the series. 

Here we bring you three players who were lucky to get picked in India squad despite not doing well in IPL 2022:

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-644654" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Ruturaj-Gaikwad-1.jpg" alt="Ruturaj Gaikwad" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-644654" class="wp-caption-text">Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

The Chennai Super Kings opener, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/selectors-should-not-waste-any-time-in-drafting-ruturaj-gaikwad-in-indias-test-side-dilip-vengsarkar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ruturaj Gaikwad</a>, was preferred in India&#8217;s T20I squad even after a below-average IPL 2022. Ruturaj probably had his worst IPL season as he averaged only 26.29 this season. This was by far the lowest Ruturaj has ever averaged in his three-year IPL career so far. In 2021, he averaged a staggering 45.35, scoring 635 runs in 16 innings, and 51.01 in 2020, when he scored 204 runs in six innings.

In fact, Ruturaj has barely performed even in the three odd opportunities he has got in the blue jersey for India. Ruturaj averages just 13 in three innings and has scored 39 runs at a strike rate of just 108.33. In the absence of Rohit, Ruturaj will probably get a longer rope in the South Africa series, which will be a make or break series for the opener.

In IPL 2022, a few of the other free-flowing Indian batters like Rahul Tripathi and Prithvi Shaw have batted out of their skin at mind-boggling strike rates and have still missed out on the T20 squad. Ruturaj Gaikwad would consider himself lucky to still find his place in India’s T20 format in spite of his most disappointing IPL season. As a result, it will be interesting to see how Ruturaj fares against Temba Bavuma&#8217;s Proteas.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-645396" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel-1.jpg" alt="Axar Patel" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645396" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

Another player who didn&#8217;t fare as expected in IPL 2022 was Axar Patel, who managed to keep his place in the T20 squad against South Africa. Axar, who has picked just six wickets in 13 innings this season, would be absolutely pinching himself to make him believe that he is still in the squad. Axar has the worst bowling average (53.50) and bowling strike rate (43) among all the Delhi Capitals bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs.

In fact, Axar’s season was so poor that even a part-time bowler, Lalit Yadav, had a better bowling strike rate as compared to Patel. Patel, on the other hand, has been backed based on his record in the T20 format in the blue jersey. The all-rounder has taken 14.61% of the wickets taken by the Indian team in the 13 international matches played so far, picking up a total of 13 wickets at a strike rate of 24.46 with the best figures of 3/9 against New Zealand.

In the absence of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/things-come-to-an-end-michael-vaughan-opines-on-reported-rift-between-csk-and-ravindra-jadeja/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ravindra Jadeja</a>, Axar is India’s only left-arm spinner in the squad who can contribute with the bat. The selectors have ignored Krunal Pandya, who had a far better IPL in comparison to Axar Patel. India’s debate on a spin-bowling all-rounder widens after the inclusion of Axar Patel in the squad, as the bench strength of India will give the selectors a good headache of having plenty of options for one position.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-645913" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Venkatesh-Iyer.jpg" alt="Venkatesh Iyer" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645913" class="wp-caption-text">Venkatesh Iyer (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

Venkatesh Iyer was one of the biggest disappointments of IPL 2022. Venky scored just 182 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.55. In fact, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/my-father-didnt-eat-for-2-3-days-rinku-singh-on-struggling-with-serious-injury-in-career/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rinku Singh</a> was just eight runs (174) behind Venkatesh, in spite of him featuring in five fewer innings than the latter. Iyer has been a bit-part player for KKR, failing with both the bat and the ball, with just one fifty-plus score with the bat and failing to pick up a single wicket with the ball in the entire IPL 2022.

India’s T20 squad was selected with an eye on the T20 World Cup down under later this year. Venkatesh, who is a natural opener, has turned into a finisher/all-rounder to fit into the Indian setup. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik back in the Indian setup, it would be difficult for someone like Venkatesh Iyer to walk into the playing XI.

The selectors might have still backed Venky on the back of the performance against West Indies, where he scored 92 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 180 in three matches. The Indian selectors will be auditioning for the role of a proper finisher and all-rounder for the T20 World Cup 2022 in the upcoming bilateral T20 cricket they are playing. It will be difficult for an under-confident Venkatesh Iyer after a poor IPL to still grab onto his place in the T20 squad once Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar become fit and are available for selection.

India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa was announced on Sunday (May 22). The 17-member squad included several performers from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). With the tournament expanding to 10 teams, it presented opportunities to a lot of star players to showcase their skills.
With the senior players rested, the selectors awarded a place on the national side to the few players in the IPL 2022 while a few others were retained. KL Rahul was named captain and Rishabh Pant the vice-captain of the side even as the players who underperformed were also selected in the Indian team for the series.&nbsp;
<h3>Here we bring you three players who were lucky to get picked in India squad despite not doing well in IPL 2022:</h3>
<h3>1. Ruturaj Gaikwad</h3>
<figure id="attachment_644654" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-644654" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-644654" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Ruturaj-Gaikwad-1.jpg" alt="Ruturaj Gaikwad" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-644654" class="wp-caption-text">Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The Chennai Super Kings opener, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/selectors-should-not-waste-any-time-in-drafting-ruturaj-gaikwad-in-indias-test-side-dilip-vengsarkar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ruturaj Gaikwad</a>, was preferred in India’s T20I squad even after a below-average IPL 2022. Ruturaj probably had his worst IPL season as he averaged only 26.29 this season. This was by far the lowest Ruturaj has ever averaged in his three-year IPL career so far. In 2021, he averaged a staggering 45.35, scoring 635 runs in 16 innings, and 51.01 in 2020, when he scored 204 runs in six innings.
In fact, Ruturaj has barely performed even in the three odd opportunities he has got in the blue jersey for India. Ruturaj averages just 13 in three innings and has scored 39 runs at a strike rate of just 108.33. In the absence of Rohit, Ruturaj will probably get a longer rope in the South Africa series, which will be a make or break series for the opener.
In IPL 2022, a few of the other free-flowing Indian batters like Rahul Tripathi and Prithvi Shaw have batted out of their skin at mind-boggling strike rates and have still missed out on the T20 squad. Ruturaj Gaikwad would consider himself lucky to still find his place in India’s T20 format in spite of his most disappointing IPL season. As a result, it will be interesting to see how Ruturaj fares against Temba Bavuma’s Proteas.
<h3>2. Axar Patel</h3>
<figure id="attachment_645396" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645396" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-645396" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel-1.jpg" alt="Axar Patel" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645396" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Another player who didn’t fare as expected in IPL 2022 was Axar Patel, who managed to keep his place in the T20 squad against South Africa. Axar, who has picked just six wickets in 13 innings this season, would be absolutely pinching himself to make him believe that he is still in the squad. Axar has the worst bowling average (53.50) and bowling strike rate (43) among all the Delhi Capitals bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs.
In fact, Axar’s season was so poor that even a part-time bowler, Lalit Yadav, had a better bowling strike rate as compared to Patel. Patel, on the other hand, has been backed based on his record in the T20 format in the blue jersey. The all-rounder has taken 14.61% of the wickets taken by the Indian team in the 13 international matches played so far, picking up a total of 13 wickets at a strike rate of 24.46 with the best figures of 3/9 against New Zealand.
In the absence of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/things-come-to-an-end-michael-vaughan-opines-on-reported-rift-between-csk-and-ravindra-jadeja/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ravindra Jadeja</a>, Axar is India’s only left-arm spinner in the squad who can contribute with the bat. The selectors have ignored Krunal Pandya, who had a far better IPL in comparison to Axar Patel. India’s debate on a spin-bowling all-rounder widens after the inclusion of Axar Patel in the squad, as the bench strength of India will give the selectors a good headache of having plenty of options for one position.
<h3>3. Venkatesh Iyer</h3>
<figure id="attachment_645913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645913" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-645913" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Venkatesh-Iyer.jpg" alt="Venkatesh Iyer" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645913" class="wp-caption-text">Venkatesh Iyer (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Venkatesh Iyer was one of the biggest disappointments of IPL 2022. Venky scored just 182 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.55. In fact, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/my-father-didnt-eat-for-2-3-days-rinku-singh-on-struggling-with-serious-injury-in-career/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rinku Singh</a> was just eight runs (174) behind Venkatesh, in spite of him featuring in five fewer innings than the latter. Iyer has been a bit-part player for KKR, failing with both the bat and the ball, with just one fifty-plus score with the bat and failing to pick up a single wicket with the ball in the entire IPL 2022.
India’s T20 squad was selected with an eye on the T20 World Cup down under later this year. Venkatesh, who is a natural opener, has turned into a finisher/all-rounder to fit into the Indian setup. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik back in the Indian setup, it would be difficult for someone like Venkatesh Iyer to walk into the playing XI.&nbsp;
The selectors might have still backed Venky on the back of the performance against West Indies, where he scored 92 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 180 in three matches. The Indian selectors will be auditioning for the role of a proper finisher and all-rounder for the T20 World Cup 2022 in the upcoming bilateral T20 cricket they are playing. It will be difficult for an under-confident Venkatesh Iyer after a poor IPL to still grab onto his place in the T20 squad once Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar become fit and are available for selection.

India&#8217;s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa was announced on Sunday (May 22). The 17-member squad included several performers from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). With the tournament expanding to 10 teams, it presented opportunities to a lot of star players to showcase their skills.
With the senior players rested, the selectors awarded a place on the national side to the few players in the IPL 2022 while a few others were retained. KL Rahul was named captain and Rishabh Pant the vice-captain of the side even as the players who underperformed were also selected in the Indian team for the series. 
<h3>Here we bring you three players who were lucky to get picked in India squad despite not doing well in IPL 2022:</h3>
<h3>1. Ruturaj Gaikwad</h3>
<figure id="attachment_644654" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-644654" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-644654" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Ruturaj-Gaikwad-1.jpg" alt="Ruturaj Gaikwad" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-644654" class="wp-caption-text">Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The Chennai Super Kings opener, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/selectors-should-not-waste-any-time-in-drafting-ruturaj-gaikwad-in-indias-test-side-dilip-vengsarkar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ruturaj Gaikwad</a>, was preferred in India&#8217;s T20I squad even after a below-average IPL 2022. Ruturaj probably had his worst IPL season as he averaged only 26.29 this season. This was by far the lowest Ruturaj has ever averaged in his three-year IPL career so far. In 2021, he averaged a staggering 45.35, scoring 635 runs in 16 innings, and 51.01 in 2020, when he scored 204 runs in six innings.
In fact, Ruturaj has barely performed even in the three odd opportunities he has got in the blue jersey for India. Ruturaj averages just 13 in three innings and has scored 39 runs at a strike rate of just 108.33. In the absence of Rohit, Ruturaj will probably get a longer rope in the South Africa series, which will be a make or break series for the opener.
In IPL 2022, a few of the other free-flowing Indian batters like Rahul Tripathi and Prithvi Shaw have batted out of their skin at mind-boggling strike rates and have still missed out on the T20 squad. Ruturaj Gaikwad would consider himself lucky to still find his place in India’s T20 format in spite of his most disappointing IPL season. As a result, it will be interesting to see how Ruturaj fares against Temba Bavuma&#8217;s Proteas.
<h3>2. Axar Patel</h3>
<figure id="attachment_645396" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645396" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-645396" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Axar-Patel-1.jpg" alt="Axar Patel" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645396" class="wp-caption-text">Axar Patel. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Another player who didn&#8217;t fare as expected in IPL 2022 was Axar Patel, who managed to keep his place in the T20 squad against South Africa. Axar, who has picked just six wickets in 13 innings this season, would be absolutely pinching himself to make him believe that he is still in the squad. Axar has the worst bowling average (53.50) and bowling strike rate (43) among all the Delhi Capitals bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10 overs.
In fact, Axar’s season was so poor that even a part-time bowler, Lalit Yadav, had a better bowling strike rate as compared to Patel. Patel, on the other hand, has been backed based on his record in the T20 format in the blue jersey. The all-rounder has taken 14.61% of the wickets taken by the Indian team in the 13 international matches played so far, picking up a total of 13 wickets at a strike rate of 24.46 with the best figures of 3/9 against New Zealand.
In the absence of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/things-come-to-an-end-michael-vaughan-opines-on-reported-rift-between-csk-and-ravindra-jadeja/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ravindra Jadeja</a>, Axar is India’s only left-arm spinner in the squad who can contribute with the bat. The selectors have ignored Krunal Pandya, who had a far better IPL in comparison to Axar Patel. India’s debate on a spin-bowling all-rounder widens after the inclusion of Axar Patel in the squad, as the bench strength of India will give the selectors a good headache of having plenty of options for one position.
<h3>3. Venkatesh Iyer</h3>
<figure id="attachment_645913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-645913" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-645913" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Venkatesh-Iyer.jpg" alt="Venkatesh Iyer" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-645913" class="wp-caption-text">Venkatesh Iyer (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
Venkatesh Iyer was one of the biggest disappointments of IPL 2022. Venky scored just 182 runs in 12 innings at an average of 16.55. In fact, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/my-father-didnt-eat-for-2-3-days-rinku-singh-on-struggling-with-serious-injury-in-career/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rinku Singh</a> was just eight runs (174) behind Venkatesh, in spite of him featuring in five fewer innings than the latter. Iyer has been a bit-part player for KKR, failing with both the bat and the ball, with just one fifty-plus score with the bat and failing to pick up a single wicket with the ball in the entire IPL 2022.
India’s T20 squad was selected with an eye on the T20 World Cup down under later this year. Venkatesh, who is a natural opener, has turned into a finisher/all-rounder to fit into the Indian setup. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik back in the Indian setup, it would be difficult for someone like Venkatesh Iyer to walk into the playing XI. 
The selectors might have still backed Venky on the back of the performance against West Indies, where he scored 92 runs at a staggering strike rate of over 180 in three matches. The Indian selectors will be auditioning for the role of a proper finisher and all-rounder for the T20 World Cup 2022 in the upcoming bilateral T20 cricket they are playing. It will be difficult for an under-confident Venkatesh Iyer after a poor IPL to still grab onto his place in the T20 squad once Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar become fit and are available for selection.

These players weren't consistent in their trade during IPL 2022.

3 Players who underperformed in IPL 2022 but got a chance in India's T20I squad for South Africa series

We bring you three players who underperformed in IPL 2022 but got a chance in India's T20I squad for series vs South Africa