&#8220;Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi&#8221; – IPL has been true to its slogan of providing opportunities to talented players every year and this year has been no different. With two additional teams coming in 2022, the opportunities have been greater than ever before. While the 15th edition of the Tata IPL will open doors of opportunity for some new and old faces, it will also close the back door of entry into the Indian National team for players who didn’t quite make their opportunities count at the IPL 2022. As the cricket fans now move on from the IPL fever and unite as one to support <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/india/?page=1">Team India</a>, they will be taking on the South Africans for a five-match T20I series starting on the 9th of June. The BCCI and selectors will look to rest a few regular players to manage the workload of the current Indian team&#8217;s stalwart players. This means there would be debut caps on sale and opportunities for the promising players who have been standing in line for quite some time now. However, there are five such players who, despite having played for India, would miss the bus to feature in the series against South Africa courtesy of a below-par IPL season.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-621419" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-621419" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

The 22-year-old leggie, Rahul Chahar, was called upon as the main leg-spinner for India at the T20 World Cup in Dubai after a splendid IPL 2021. Rahul has faded away ever since. In the one game that Rahul featured against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2021, Chahar had a night to forget as he went wicketless and gave 30 runs in the four overs that he bowled. Rahul debuted for India in the T20Is in 2019 under Virat Kohli and had a decent start to his T20 career with bowling figures of 1-27 against the West Indies. Post the West Indies series in 2019, Rahul again got an opportunity in the T20I series against England, where he was quite below par as per his IPL bowling standards. In bowling seven overs in the two games he featured in, Chahar picked up two wickets and gave away 68 runs at an economy of 8.86 and 9.50 respectively. However, Rahul of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/mi-mumbai-indians/?page=1">Mumbai Indians</a> was back for Team India with four wickets in two innings, giving 42 runs in eight overs against Sri Lanka. He bowled well in the away series against Sri Lanka, where India played their second-string side when the senior team was playing a test series against England. This time again, India will be playing their B-Team against South Africa, and there will be plenty of chances for the younger folks. However, Rahul might just miss out on the bus with a below-par IPL season. After a few successful games initially, Chahar hasn’t quite been able to deliver with wickets in the middle overs for Punjab Kings. Chahar has the worst strike rate (20) among the Punjab Kings bowlers who have bowled more than 15 overs. Even though Chahar has picked 14 wickets in 13 innings, with the resurgence of &#8220;Kul-cha&#8221;, who have picked 44 wickets between them in IPL 2022, the chances of another wrist player featuring in the squad for South Africa as a backup would be pretty slim.

<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>

The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/kkr-kolkata-knight-riders/">Kolkata Knight Riders</a> opener and all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer, was looked upon as the replacement for Hardik Pandya in the Indian setup. One of the four retained players by KKR, Venkatesh has struggled to deliver on the faith shown by the KKR management. In the ongoing IPL 2022, Venky has neither been able to perform with the bat nor the ball. Venky’s below-par performance resulted in his being dropped from the playing eleven for two matches. With the bat in hand, Venkatesh has scored 182 runs in 11 innings at a substandard average of 18.20. Apart from a very poor average, Venkatesh hasn’t been able to give KKR the much-needed quick starts either, as he is striking at just 110.30 with only one fifty-plus score under his belt. The poor form with the bat has translated into his bowling too, as Venkatesh has failed to pick up even a single wicket in the four innings that he has bowled for KKR. Forget about the wickets, Iyer has not looked threatening at all with his bowling, as he has given runs at above 8 per over. As we are rather expecting a B-string side for the South Africa series, this would be the right chance for backups to perform and make a case for themselves. However, for the all-rounders&#8217; position, Shardul and Deepak Chahar are racing through the charts as Hardik’s backups for the T20 World Cup, with Venkatesh Iyer being less potent with both bat and ball. In the long run, Venky has to pull up his socks with his hard-hitting ability and score consistently and pick up wickets in the middle overs to be considered as the backup all-rounder for India going forward.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-631520" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Prithvi-Shaw-1.jpg" alt="Prithvi Shaw" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-631520" class="wp-caption-text">Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

Adding to the long list of Indian openers and the even longer list of reserve openers, there stands the young and talented Prithvi Shaw. Shaw, who had a decent IPL 2022 before being diagnosed with typhoid, was doing the job of the bashing opener for DC. A home series against South Africa could have been the breakthrough series that Prithvi was looking for. The Mumbai-born batter has played nine innings for DC, scoring 259 runs at an average of 28.78. More than the average, what makes Prithvi stand apart from other openers is his swashbuckling strike rate of 159.87, which has its worth in gold for an opening batter. Prithvi has the game and swag of a dashing opener who can dismantle the bowlers in the powerplay overs, which is the basic KRA for any opener in T20I. However, having the ability and talent is one thing, and consistently performing is another. To make a comeback in the Indian setup, Prithvi must consistently perform and regain the faith of the Indian selectors. Taking everything into consideration from fitness to Shaw’s form, he would have still missed the bus to the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi to play against South Africa. India has already decided on their opening pair for the T20 World Cup: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma as the two frontrunners. India also has two backup openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad who can walk into any playing eleven. The problem of plenty for the opening position is spoiling chances for natural, free-flowing openers like Prithvi Shaw, who need to prove their mettle consistently to have a chance to feature as a regular opener for India.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-564651" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Varun-Chakravarthy.jpg" alt="Varun Chakravarthy" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-564651" class="wp-caption-text">Varun Chakravarthy. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

The architect turned professional cricketer, Varun Chakravarthy’s cricketing career has been nothing short of a mystery in itself. After coming up the ranks as a mystery bowler, Varun’s place in the playing 11 has become a mystery. The spinner has lost his touch after the initial 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons with KKR.  It was Varun’s 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons that earned him a maiden call to the Team India setup and also earned him a fourth retention spot with KKR for the 2022 season. In the six games that Varun has featured for Team India, he has managed to pick just two wickets. To everyone’s surprise, even after below-par international games, Chakravarthy was still called up for Team India’s <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/t20-world-cup/">T20 World Cup</a> squad for UAE 2021. In the three world cup games that he featured in 2021, Varun did not manage to pick up a single wicket, and Chakravarthy’s confidence and career have gone downhill ever since. In the 10 games, Chakravarthy has played for KKR in the 2022 IPL, he has the worst bowling average (49) amongst all the regular bowlers for KKR. The season has been so poor for Varun that, he has picked just six wickets in the 35 overs he has bowled across 10 innings. Team India’s spin bowling lineup looks sorted with Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi, whom the Indian selectors will like to groom to reap benefits soon. Chakravarthy would have a difficult time cutting the chase for the South Africa series because all three bases appear to be covered in the spin department.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-618859" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mayank-Agarwal-1.jpg" alt="Mayank Agarwal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-618859" class="wp-caption-text">Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

Mayank would have hoped for a dream IPL season to miraculously make it back to the Indian setup when there are backups of backups available for the opener slot for Team India. However, the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/punjab-kings/">Punjab Kings</a> captain was kind enough to not give any further headaches to the selectors with his worst ever IPL performance. As they say, captaincy is not everyone’s cup of tea, and the same is true for Mayank Agarwal, the batter, who has seen a downslide ever since he became the captain. Mayank has been the most disappointing batter for Punjab this season. scoring just 195 runs at an average of 17.73 in the 11 innings he has batted this season. Mayank’s confidence went from bad to worse as he decided to demote himself in the batting order to not affect the team&#8217;s scoring rate when the likes of Dhawan, Livingstone, and Bairstow were playing out of their skins. The race for Team India’s opener position is tighter than ever before, with the likes of young guns like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, and Shubhman Gill punching above their weights with consistent performances in IPL 2022. Mayank Agarwal, 31, would be extremely unlikely to be included in the squad for the South Africa series. As Mayank is yet to debut for India in T20I, and with age not being on this backup openers&#8217; performing, the road ahead for Agarwal in the Indian setup looks dark.

“Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi” – IPL has been true to its slogan of providing opportunities to talented players every year and this year has been no different. With two additional teams coming in 2022, the opportunities have been greater than ever before. While the 15th edition of the Tata IPL will open doors of opportunity for some new and old faces, it will also close the back door of entry into the Indian National team for players who didn’t quite make their opportunities count at the IPL 2022. As the cricket fans now move on from the IPL fever and unite as one to support <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/india/?page=1">Team India</a>, they will be taking on the South Africans for a five-match T20I series starting on the 9th of June. The BCCI and selectors will look to rest a few regular players to manage the workload of the current Indian team’s stalwart players. This means there would be debut caps on sale and opportunities for the promising players who have been standing in line for quite some time now. However, there are five such players who, despite having played for India, would miss the bus to feature in the series against South Africa courtesy of a below-par IPL season.
<h3>5. Rahul Chahar</h3>
<figure id="attachment_621419" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-621419" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-621419" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-621419" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The 22-year-old leggie, Rahul Chahar, was called upon as the main leg-spinner for India at the T20 World Cup in Dubai after a splendid IPL 2021. Rahul has faded away ever since. In the one game that Rahul featured against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2021, Chahar had a night to forget as he went wicketless and gave 30 runs in the four overs that he bowled. Rahul debuted for India in the T20Is in 2019 under Virat Kohli and had a decent start to his T20 career with bowling figures of 1-27 against the West Indies. Post the West Indies series in 2019, Rahul again got an opportunity in the T20I series against England, where he was quite below par as per his IPL bowling standards. In bowling seven overs in the two games he featured in, Chahar picked up two wickets and gave away 68 runs at an economy of 8.86 and 9.50 respectively. However, Rahul of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/mi-mumbai-indians/?page=1">Mumbai Indians</a> was back for Team India with four wickets in two innings, giving 42 runs in eight overs against Sri Lanka. He bowled well in the away series against Sri Lanka, where India played their second-string side when the senior team was playing a test series against England. This time again, India will be playing their B-Team against South Africa, and there will be plenty of chances for the younger folks. However, Rahul might just miss out on the bus with a below-par IPL season. After a few successful games initially, Chahar hasn’t quite been able to deliver with wickets in the middle overs for Punjab Kings. Chahar has the worst strike rate (20) among the Punjab Kings bowlers who have bowled more than 15 overs. Even though Chahar has picked 14 wickets in 13 innings, with the resurgence of “Kul-cha”, who have picked 44 wickets between them in IPL 2022, the chances of another wrist player featuring in the squad for South Africa as a backup would be pretty slim.

<h3>4. 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>
The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/kkr-kolkata-knight-riders/">Kolkata Knight Riders</a> opener and all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer, was looked upon as the replacement for Hardik Pandya in the Indian setup. One of the four retained players by KKR, Venkatesh has struggled to deliver on the faith shown by the KKR management. In the ongoing IPL 2022, Venky has neither been able to perform with the bat nor the ball. Venky’s below-par performance resulted in his being dropped from the playing eleven for two matches. With the bat in hand, Venkatesh has scored 182 runs in 11 innings at a substandard average of 18.20. Apart from a very poor average, Venkatesh hasn’t been able to give KKR the much-needed quick starts either, as he is striking at just 110.30 with only one fifty-plus score under his belt. The poor form with the bat has translated into his bowling too, as Venkatesh has failed to pick up even a single wicket in the four innings that he has bowled for KKR. Forget about the wickets, Iyer has not looked threatening at all with his bowling, as he has given runs at above 8 per over. As we are rather expecting a B-string side for the South Africa series, this would be the right chance for backups to perform and make a case for themselves. However, for the all-rounders’ position, Shardul and Deepak Chahar are racing through the charts as Hardik’s backups for the T20 World Cup, with Venkatesh Iyer being less potent with both bat and ball. In the long run, Venky has to pull up his socks with his hard-hitting ability and score consistently and pick up wickets in the middle overs to be considered as the backup all-rounder for India going forward.

<h3>3. Prithvi Shaw</h3>
<figure id="attachment_631520" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-631520" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-631520" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Prithvi-Shaw-1.jpg" alt="Prithvi Shaw" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-631520" class="wp-caption-text">Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Adding to the long list of Indian openers and the even longer list of reserve openers, there stands the young and talented Prithvi Shaw. Shaw, who had a decent IPL 2022 before being diagnosed with typhoid, was doing the job of the bashing opener for DC. A home series against South Africa could have been the breakthrough series that Prithvi was looking for. The Mumbai-born batter has played nine innings for DC, scoring 259 runs at an average of 28.78. More than the average, what makes Prithvi stand apart from other openers is his swashbuckling strike rate of 159.87, which has its worth in gold for an opening batter. Prithvi has the game and swag of a dashing opener who can dismantle the bowlers in the powerplay overs, which is the basic KRA for any opener in T20I. However, having the ability and talent is one thing, and consistently performing is another. To make a comeback in the Indian setup, Prithvi must consistently perform and regain the faith of the Indian selectors. Taking everything into consideration from fitness to Shaw’s form, he would have still missed the bus to the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi to play against South Africa. India has already decided on their opening pair for the T20 World Cup: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma as the two frontrunners. India also has two backup openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad who can walk into any playing eleven. The problem of plenty for the opening position is spoiling chances for natural, free-flowing openers like Prithvi Shaw, who need to prove their mettle consistently to have a chance to feature as a regular opener for India.

<h3>2. Varun Chakravarthy</h3>
<figure id="attachment_564651" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-564651" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-564651" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Varun-Chakravarthy.jpg" alt="Varun Chakravarthy" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-564651" class="wp-caption-text">Varun Chakravarthy. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The architect turned professional cricketer, Varun Chakravarthy’s cricketing career has been nothing short of a mystery in itself. After coming up the ranks as a mystery bowler, Varun’s place in the playing 11 has become a mystery. The spinner has lost his touch after the initial 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons with KKR.&nbsp; It was Varun’s 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons that earned him a maiden call to the Team India setup and also earned him a fourth retention spot with KKR for the 2022 season. In the six games that Varun has featured for Team India, he has managed to pick just two wickets. To everyone’s surprise, even after below-par international games, Chakravarthy was still called up for Team India’s <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/t20-world-cup/">T20 World Cup</a> squad for UAE 2021. In the three world cup games that he featured in 2021, Varun did not manage to pick up a single wicket, and Chakravarthy’s confidence and career have gone downhill ever since. In the 10 games, Chakravarthy has played for KKR in the 2022 IPL, he has the worst bowling average (49) amongst all the regular bowlers for KKR. The season has been so poor for Varun that, he has picked just six wickets in the 35 overs he has bowled across 10 innings. Team India’s spin bowling lineup looks sorted with Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi, whom the Indian selectors will like to groom to reap benefits soon. Chakravarthy would have a difficult time cutting the chase for the South Africa series because all three bases appear to be covered in the spin department.

<h3>1. Mayank Agarwal</h3>
<figure id="attachment_618859" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-618859" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-618859" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mayank-Agarwal-1.jpg" alt="Mayank Agarwal" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-618859" class="wp-caption-text">Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Mayank would have hoped for a dream IPL season to miraculously make it back to the Indian setup when there are backups of backups available for the opener slot for Team India. However, the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/punjab-kings/">Punjab Kings</a> captain was kind enough to not give any further headaches to the selectors with his worst ever IPL performance. As they say, captaincy is not everyone’s cup of tea, and the same is true for Mayank Agarwal, the batter, who has seen a downslide ever since he became the captain. Mayank has been the most disappointing batter for Punjab this season. scoring just 195 runs at an average of 17.73 in the 11 innings he has batted this season. Mayank’s confidence went from bad to worse as he decided to demote himself in the batting order to not affect the team’s scoring rate when the likes of Dhawan, Livingstone, and Bairstow were playing out of their skins. The race for Team India’s opener position is tighter than ever before, with the likes of young guns like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, and Shubhman Gill punching above their weights with consistent performances in IPL 2022. Mayank Agarwal, 31, would be extremely unlikely to be included in the squad for the South Africa series. As Mayank is yet to debut for India in T20I, and with age not being on this backup openers’ performing, the road ahead for Agarwal in the Indian setup looks dark.

&#8220;Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi&#8221; – IPL has been true to its slogan of providing opportunities to talented players every year and this year has been no different. With two additional teams coming in 2022, the opportunities have been greater than ever before. While the 15th edition of the Tata IPL will open doors of opportunity for some new and old faces, it will also close the back door of entry into the Indian National team for players who didn’t quite make their opportunities count at the IPL 2022. As the cricket fans now move on from the IPL fever and unite as one to support <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-teams/india/?page=1">Team India</a>, they will be taking on the South Africans for a five-match T20I series starting on the 9th of June. The BCCI and selectors will look to rest a few regular players to manage the workload of the current Indian team&#8217;s stalwart players. This means there would be debut caps on sale and opportunities for the promising players who have been standing in line for quite some time now. However, there are five such players who, despite having played for India, would miss the bus to feature in the series against South Africa courtesy of a below-par IPL season.
<h3>5. Rahul Chahar</h3>
<figure id="attachment_621419" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-621419" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-621419" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Chahar.jpg" alt="Rahul Chahar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-621419" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Chahar. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The 22-year-old leggie, Rahul Chahar, was called upon as the main leg-spinner for India at the T20 World Cup in Dubai after a splendid IPL 2021. Rahul has faded away ever since. In the one game that Rahul featured against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2021, Chahar had a night to forget as he went wicketless and gave 30 runs in the four overs that he bowled. Rahul debuted for India in the T20Is in 2019 under Virat Kohli and had a decent start to his T20 career with bowling figures of 1-27 against the West Indies. Post the West Indies series in 2019, Rahul again got an opportunity in the T20I series against England, where he was quite below par as per his IPL bowling standards. In bowling seven overs in the two games he featured in, Chahar picked up two wickets and gave away 68 runs at an economy of 8.86 and 9.50 respectively. However, Rahul of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/mi-mumbai-indians/?page=1">Mumbai Indians</a> was back for Team India with four wickets in two innings, giving 42 runs in eight overs against Sri Lanka. He bowled well in the away series against Sri Lanka, where India played their second-string side when the senior team was playing a test series against England. This time again, India will be playing their B-Team against South Africa, and there will be plenty of chances for the younger folks. However, Rahul might just miss out on the bus with a below-par IPL season. After a few successful games initially, Chahar hasn’t quite been able to deliver with wickets in the middle overs for Punjab Kings. Chahar has the worst strike rate (20) among the Punjab Kings bowlers who have bowled more than 15 overs. Even though Chahar has picked 14 wickets in 13 innings, with the resurgence of &#8220;Kul-cha&#8221;, who have picked 44 wickets between them in IPL 2022, the chances of another wrist player featuring in the squad for South Africa as a backup would be pretty slim.

<h3>4. 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>
The <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/kkr-kolkata-knight-riders/">Kolkata Knight Riders</a> opener and all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer, was looked upon as the replacement for Hardik Pandya in the Indian setup. One of the four retained players by KKR, Venkatesh has struggled to deliver on the faith shown by the KKR management. In the ongoing IPL 2022, Venky has neither been able to perform with the bat nor the ball. Venky’s below-par performance resulted in his being dropped from the playing eleven for two matches. With the bat in hand, Venkatesh has scored 182 runs in 11 innings at a substandard average of 18.20. Apart from a very poor average, Venkatesh hasn’t been able to give KKR the much-needed quick starts either, as he is striking at just 110.30 with only one fifty-plus score under his belt. The poor form with the bat has translated into his bowling too, as Venkatesh has failed to pick up even a single wicket in the four innings that he has bowled for KKR. Forget about the wickets, Iyer has not looked threatening at all with his bowling, as he has given runs at above 8 per over. As we are rather expecting a B-string side for the South Africa series, this would be the right chance for backups to perform and make a case for themselves. However, for the all-rounders&#8217; position, Shardul and Deepak Chahar are racing through the charts as Hardik’s backups for the T20 World Cup, with Venkatesh Iyer being less potent with both bat and ball. In the long run, Venky has to pull up his socks with his hard-hitting ability and score consistently and pick up wickets in the middle overs to be considered as the backup all-rounder for India going forward.

<h3>3. Prithvi Shaw</h3>
<figure id="attachment_631520" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-631520" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-631520" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Prithvi-Shaw-1.jpg" alt="Prithvi Shaw" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-631520" class="wp-caption-text">Prithvi Shaw. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Adding to the long list of Indian openers and the even longer list of reserve openers, there stands the young and talented Prithvi Shaw. Shaw, who had a decent IPL 2022 before being diagnosed with typhoid, was doing the job of the bashing opener for DC. A home series against South Africa could have been the breakthrough series that Prithvi was looking for. The Mumbai-born batter has played nine innings for DC, scoring 259 runs at an average of 28.78. More than the average, what makes Prithvi stand apart from other openers is his swashbuckling strike rate of 159.87, which has its worth in gold for an opening batter. Prithvi has the game and swag of a dashing opener who can dismantle the bowlers in the powerplay overs, which is the basic KRA for any opener in T20I. However, having the ability and talent is one thing, and consistently performing is another. To make a comeback in the Indian setup, Prithvi must consistently perform and regain the faith of the Indian selectors. Taking everything into consideration from fitness to Shaw’s form, he would have still missed the bus to the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi to play against South Africa. India has already decided on their opening pair for the T20 World Cup: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma as the two frontrunners. India also has two backup openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad who can walk into any playing eleven. The problem of plenty for the opening position is spoiling chances for natural, free-flowing openers like Prithvi Shaw, who need to prove their mettle consistently to have a chance to feature as a regular opener for India.

<h3>2. Varun Chakravarthy</h3>
<figure id="attachment_564651" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-564651" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-564651" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Varun-Chakravarthy.jpg" alt="Varun Chakravarthy" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-564651" class="wp-caption-text">Varun Chakravarthy. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The architect turned professional cricketer, Varun Chakravarthy’s cricketing career has been nothing short of a mystery in itself. After coming up the ranks as a mystery bowler, Varun’s place in the playing 11 has become a mystery. The spinner has lost his touch after the initial 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons with KKR.  It was Varun’s 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons that earned him a maiden call to the Team India setup and also earned him a fourth retention spot with KKR for the 2022 season. In the six games that Varun has featured for Team India, he has managed to pick just two wickets. To everyone’s surprise, even after below-par international games, Chakravarthy was still called up for Team India’s <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/t20-world-cup/">T20 World Cup</a> squad for UAE 2021. In the three world cup games that he featured in 2021, Varun did not manage to pick up a single wicket, and Chakravarthy’s confidence and career have gone downhill ever since. In the 10 games, Chakravarthy has played for KKR in the 2022 IPL, he has the worst bowling average (49) amongst all the regular bowlers for KKR. The season has been so poor for Varun that, he has picked just six wickets in the 35 overs he has bowled across 10 innings. Team India’s spin bowling lineup looks sorted with Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi, whom the Indian selectors will like to groom to reap benefits soon. Chakravarthy would have a difficult time cutting the chase for the South Africa series because all three bases appear to be covered in the spin department.

<h3>1. Mayank Agarwal</h3>
<figure id="attachment_618859" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-618859" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-618859" src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/Mayank-Agarwal-1.jpg" alt="Mayank Agarwal" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-618859" class="wp-caption-text">Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Mayank would have hoped for a dream IPL season to miraculously make it back to the Indian setup when there are backups of backups available for the opener slot for Team India. However, the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/punjab-kings/">Punjab Kings</a> captain was kind enough to not give any further headaches to the selectors with his worst ever IPL performance. As they say, captaincy is not everyone’s cup of tea, and the same is true for Mayank Agarwal, the batter, who has seen a downslide ever since he became the captain. Mayank has been the most disappointing batter for Punjab this season. scoring just 195 runs at an average of 17.73 in the 11 innings he has batted this season. Mayank’s confidence went from bad to worse as he decided to demote himself in the batting order to not affect the team&#8217;s scoring rate when the likes of Dhawan, Livingstone, and Bairstow were playing out of their skins. The race for Team India’s opener position is tighter than ever before, with the likes of young guns like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, and Shubhman Gill punching above their weights with consistent performances in IPL 2022. Mayank Agarwal, 31, would be extremely unlikely to be included in the squad for the South Africa series. As Mayank is yet to debut for India in T20I, and with age not being on this backup openers&#8217; performing, the road ahead for Agarwal in the Indian setup looks dark.

With the selectors looking to rest a few regular players in order to manage the workload, there would be debut caps on sale in the T20I series against South Africa.

IND vs SA: 5 Indian players who might miss the bus for T20I series

With IPL 2022 nearing its end, we look forward to INDvsSA T20I series. Here are some players who might miss out making it to the India squad.