5 Indian players who might not find a place in 2021 T20 World Cup squad

With two T20 World Cups scheduled for the next couple of years, team managements are looking to find the best possible 15 players for their squads. They might not necessarily be the best 15 players in the country and there will be certain slots that will depend upon combinations rather than quality.

The Indian team has tested about 25 players over the last couple of years, but only 15 of them can make it to the squad in the end and there might be a couple of others as reserve players. It will be quite harsh on those who don’t make it, but it is the sad reality.

The ongoing IPL will provide an opportunity to several players to either strengthen their claim or even fire themselves into the reckoning. This will obviously mean that there will be certain players who lose their place and might not end up making the squad. Let’s take a look at-

5 Indian players who might not find a place in 2021 T20 World Cup squad

1. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal established himself as one of the best-limited overs spinners in the world during the 2017-2019 period and formed an excellent partnership along with Kuldeep Yadav. However, his form declined a bit after that and as a result, he found himself in and out of the playing XI.

But he still managed to keep his place in the squad due to his IPL performances. However, constant failures in the Indian jersey have meant that his returns in the IPL might be overlooked and he could potentially be dropped from the team.

He was dropped from the playing XI during the last couple of T20Is against England as well. Chahal has continued his poor form into the IPL while the likes of Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy have started off quite well. If this continues, then he might find himself out of the squad for the tournament.

2. Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan had a brilliant start to his T20I career scoring a 50 on debut and excited everyone as the Indian team didn’t have many batsmen with the intent he showed from the very first ball. He was picked ahead of Shikhar Dhawan and it looked like the experienced campaigner’s place was in danger.

However, Dhawan showed good form in the ODIs and has carried that into the IPL while Ishan Kishan has had a slow start to the tournament. Dhawan has been batting with good intent and even his experience will help his case.

He has scored just 67 runs in four IPL games at a poor strike rate of 94.36 while Shikhar Dhawan is leading the race for the Orange Cap. He will have to improve his form significantly in order to defeat his competitors in the race, but at this very moment, there is a good chance that he won’t make the squad.

3. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey has been a part of India’s limited-overs squads over the last couple of years but wasn’t selected for the series against England due to injury. He was excluded from the BCCI contract list for the upcoming year, showing that they might be preferring other players going forward.

He hasn’t had a particularly great IPL as well as he has scored just 101 in three games at a strike rate of just 112.22. His competitors like Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw have been scoring runs at a higher strike rate as well.

Pandey was even dropped for SRH’s fourth game against the Punjab Kings, and this certainly doesn’t help his case. With quite a few players performing well and him not being in the IPL playing XI at present, he is going to find it difficult to play his 2^nd T20I World Cup.

4. Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar was considered to be one of the leading contenders to secure a place in India’s T20I team when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was going through a spell of injury. However, he failed to make the most of his opportunity while the likes of T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur have gone ahead in the pecking order.

With the trio of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar nailed on as the first choice pace attack, there are only two spots left in the squad for fast bowlers. Shardul Thakur has been in pretty good form for the Indian team and also adds batting value while Natarajan offers variety as a left-armer.

Deepak Chahar has proven to be a bit ineffective in conditions where the ball doesn’t swing much and this might go against him. Even his IPL form last year was mediocre and it will be interesting to see if he can force his way into the squad depending upon his performances this season.

5. Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been a regular in India’s squad over the last couple of years and he was expected to be among the frontrunners for a place in the squad for the World Cup. He even played all 5 of the T20Is against England and performed quite well.

However, things took a sharp U-turn for him and he injured himself during the first ODI against the same opposition. He dislocated his shoulder on the field and he is expected to be out for another couple of months.

With pretty much no cricket behind him just 2-3 months before the start of the event, the selectors might not be too keen on picking him and might want to look at others who have been playing regularly. Unlike the others, Iyer’s inclusion on the list is based on the fact that he is injured, and if he didn’t suffer from such an unfortunate injury, he would have had a good chance of being in the squad.