With a premature exit from the Asia Cup 2022, which exposed how India’s frailties from the last edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup have not been amended, the squad announcement for the upcoming T20 World Cup was always bound to be met with stern scrutiny.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-man contingent on Monday, 12 September, and there were not many surprises. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned to the team after recovering from their respective injuries, while a knee injury kept Ravindra Jadeja out of the squad.
However, in line with the pattern of any post-squad announcement phase in Indian cricket, the inclusion of a few names and the omission of some significant others have sparked debates.
Let us take a look at the five players who were unlucky not to be selected in the team:
1. Mohammed Shami
Though quite a few players might rightfully consider themselves unlucky for not making it to the squad, the one particular omission which has left many scratching their heads is that of pacer Mohammed Shami.
The veteran speedster was not a part of the team in Asia Cup 2022, thus India did feel a void in their pace contingent. While the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel will certainly bolster India’s threat with the new ball, the inclusion of inexperienced Arshdeep Singh ahead of Shami could come back to haunt the selection committee.
There is, however, a plausible explanation. Shami has not featured in a T20I match in over ten months, with his last match in this format being in last year’s ICC Men’s T20I World Cup. Yet, those interested in a counterargument will be quick to highlight that the 32-year-old was India’s second-highest wicket-taker among the pacers in that competition.
If we are to keep international numbers aside, Shami’s performance in the Indian Premier League has been impressive. Among those who have bowled at least 300 deliveries in the last two editions of that tournament, Shami is the third-highest wicket-taker and also a part of the top 10 in terms of bowling average.
2. Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan’s omission from the team is a tad strange, considering he is the third-highest run-scorer in T20I cricket for India since the start of 2022. The youngster has accumulated 430 T20I runs this year, with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli scoring fewer runs than him.
Unlike Shami’s exclusion, which can be justified by highlighting the statistics of Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, justifying Kishan’s exclusion will be even more difficult if we do a position-wise comparison.
In his place, the team management has trusted KL Rahul, who has played all but five T20I matches this year. In those matches, he had played only one knock of 40+ runs, accumulating 132 runs at an average of 26.40, while Kishan’s 2022 T20I average is north of 30.
3. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer’s omission is equally perplexing, but it might reveal an underlying theme of the board perhaps preferring specialised roles and experience ahead of the players' current form. If we are to go by the latter theme, Iyer should ideally have got a place for being the second-highest run-scorer in T20I cricket this year for India.
The 27-year-old has scored 445 international runs in the shortest format this season and barring Virat Kohli and Deepak Hooda, he is the only other Indian batter to have maintained a T20I average in excess of 40 in 2022, while also scoring over 200 runs.
Interestingly, in his last T20I match, Iyer scored a 40-ball 64 against West Indies, but it proved to be inadequate to earn him a place in the squad. Alongside Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar, Iyer is one of India’s four stand-by players.
4. Sanju Samson
Some might find it bewildering, and justifiably so, that despite having a wealth of talent, Sanju Samson only has 23 appearances for India. Despite scoring 30 or more runs in three of his last five innings, which includes a 77-run knock, the wicketkeeper-batter has not been handed a ticket to Australia as he has not even made it to the stand-by list.
In his five T20I innings in 2022, Samson has accumulated 179 runs at an average of 44.75. To put his numbers into perspective, he has the third-highest average among the Indian batters who scored over 100 T20I runs this year.
Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik are the two wicketkeepers that the Indian team management has selected, albeit their numbers are not particularly exemplary. Pant has scored 311 runs in this format in 2022, but those runs have come in 16 runs. If the batting average forms the basis of judgement, Pant’s figure of 25.9 does not look too impressive.
Dinesh Karthik made a comeback in T20I cricket after three years back in June, and though he has not been at his best in his umpteenth stint in the side, the veteran has made it to the T20 World Cup 2022 squad.
Since his comeback, Karthik has scored 193 runs in 14 T20I innings at an underwhelming average of 21.4. Yet, perhaps the much-discussed ‘template’ works in his and Pant’s favour as they offer answers to two of India’s missing equations – a left-handed middle-order batter and designated finisher.
5. Ravi Bishnoi
Adhering to a template is non-negotiable for many teams, and considering that Bishnoi could consider himself a victim of that template. He is India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20Is this year, with 16 scalps to his name. Besides that, his 2022 bowling average of 17.13 is the second-best among those Indian bowlers who have scalped a minimum of 10 T20I wickets this year.
The 22-year-old has picked up at least one wicket in all of his last seven T20I games, and that too, while conceding 8 runs or less per over in six of those seven matches. However, with Yuzvendra Chahal getting the nod on grounds of seniority, the Indian management decided against having two leg-spinners in the team.
Instead, Ravichandran Ashwin has been selected, who besides his off-spin, can also contribute with the bat if needed. Australia and England, who have also announced their squads, have not included more than one frontline leg-spinners in their team, though the latter have a part-time ‘jack of all spins’ in Liam Livingstone.
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