A sizable contingent has been confirmed by Team India for their impending visit of South Africa. The senior phase of the tour will include of two Tests and three ODIs in addition to three T20Is.
With his injured ankle experienced during the World Cup, Hardik Pandya is still recovering. In regards to the white-ball leg of the assignment, the BCCI said that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were unavailable.
The T20I team was mostly as anticipated, with several chosen athletes currently engaged in competition against Australia. Still, some who arguably merited consideration didn’t make it.
In the selection process for India’s T20I series against South Africa, three talented Indian players faced disappointment as they were left out of the squad.
3. Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson gets selected for T20Is during ODI World Cup years and ODIs during T20 World Cup years! Nobody knows what the selectors are thinking about his role in the team.
While players were considered for 2023 World Cup, Samson was in the running until the tournament began. That’s when India decided to bet on Suryakumar Yadav. While he was overlooked for the brief South Africa tour, Samson got selected for the ODI squad as an alternate wicket-keeper.
Right now, India is not using Ishan Kishan’s skills best by playing him in the middle order. Jitesh Sharma has only played in one official game for the main team, at the Asian Games. Although Samson has not yet shown his full capability in T20Is, he is beginning to find his footing. Just as Kishan has had support, Samson should also be encouraged.
2. Avesh Khan
The fast-bowling contingent for India’s T20I series against South Africa is virtually similar to the one now facing Australia. While Prasidh Krishna was rightfully discarded, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Deepak Chahar were all kept.
Avesh Khan, unfortunately, did not make the team. He’s in the ODI team, signifying that he’s not in the selector’s plans for the red-ball series. The tour games of extended games coincide with the 50-over matches. The quick bowler, though, didn’t meet expectations in the game style he was selected for in his previous series – T20Is.
Avesh batted in the third T20I against Australia and appeared to have improved significantly. Despite selecting up to 17 players for the forthcoming test against the Proteas, the selectors have ignored the 26-year-old.
India will have one fewer fast bowler than they had against Australia, despite the fact that the Rainbow Nation is more pace-friendly than the subcontinent.
1. Axar Patel
Ravindra Jadeja isn’t just in India’s T20I team playing against South Africa; he’s also second in command. Axar Patel, the leading versatile player in India’s current series against Australia, isn’t in the squad.
Axar can consider himself quite unlucky to have missed out on the squad despite putting in several good performances in the shortest format. As things stand, he is certainly a better hitter than Jadeja, and his left-arm spin has been fairly excellent against the Aussies.
Axar Patel was also a legitimate possibility to be named with Jadeja, with the selectors going down that path quite frequently in the previous year or so.
