5 times Indian cricketers posted cryptic social media messages after squad exclusions

The competition for spots in the Indian team over the years has only grown more and more intense.

With the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the rise in the quality of domestic tournaments, the talent pool in the country seems to be deeper than ever.

However, only 11 players can represent the country at a time and on most occasions, only around 15-18 can make the final squad. While the players in the team need to be given a long rope, there have been some unfortunate cricketers who have felt hard done by due to their perceived lack of opportunities.

On that note, let's take a look at five Indian players who took to social media to express their disappointment at missing out on a spot in the team:

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#5 Rahul Tewatia

Rahul Tewatia was one of the unsung heroes of Gujarat Titans' maiden IPL season where they ended up winning the title. The all-rounder scored 217 runs in 16 games at a fantastic strike rate of 147.62 and proved to be the ideal foil for South African big-hitter David Miller.

Upon the end of the 2022 IPL, the Indian team quickly began practicing in England for a one-off Test. The selectors, meanwhile, announced a second-string side for a T20I series against Ireland, which was set to take place simultaneously.

Tewatia had already received a call-up to the Indian team previously for the 2021 T20I series at home against England. He seemed gutted when he wasn't named in the squad against Ireland.

He took to Twitter and this is the cryptic message that he tweeted:

"Expectations hurts"

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#4 Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw's Instagram Story after India's squad against South Africa was announced

One of the biggest mysteries in Indian cricket at the moment is how the talented Prithvi Shaw has been unable to find a place in the Indian team. An average of above 54 and a strike rate of more than 125 in List A cricket has made some fans wonder if Shaw's exclusion is not down to cricketing reasons alone.

The opener was simply sensational against New Zealand A and piled on runs for fun. Consequently, many expected him to be selected in the second-string Indian side that will face South Africa in an ODI series next week.

However, like in the ODI series against West Indies and Zimbabwe earlier this year, Shaw was once again ignored, leaving fans baffled. This triggered a reaction from the young opener as he took to his Instagram and posted a story with a quote that read:

"Don't trust their words, trust their actions, because actions will prove why words are meaningless."

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#3 Sanju Samson

There has been a lot of talk about how Sanju Samson has received very limited opportunities in white-ball cricket. The fact that the gap between his first and second T20I was five years tells quite the story.

After MS Dhoni decided to take time away from the game post the 2019 ICC World Cup, Team India backed Rishabh Pant to become their first-choice wicketkeeper. The southpaw was initially unable to live up to the billing in white-ball cricket and fans and former cricketers called for Samson's inclusion.

However, the right-hander was not called up to the squad even when Pant was ruled out due to a concussion for the ODI in Rajkot against Australia in 2020. Samson was initially not named in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand either, which triggered even more fans to come out in his support.

Amidst all this, Samson took to Twitter and tweeted just a ',' (comma). It seemed to suggest that there might just be a pause in his journey with Team India, but it was surely not the end.

An injury to Shikhar Dhawan then meant that Samson was included in the squad as a replacement, much to the delight of his fans.

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#2 Ambati Rayudu

Arguably one of the most heartbreaking stories of a player getting dropped at the wrong time is that of Ambati Rayudu.

The Men in Blue had an infamous issue with the No. 4 position in their batting order a few years ago. They tried a number of players but none of their options showed sufficient consistency.

But as soon as he got the chance, Rayudu's temperament and ability to score big runs, absorb pressure and stabilize the innings came to the fore. Captain Virat Kohli even publicly stated that Rayudu would be India's No. 4 in the 2019 ICC World Cup.

However, Vijay Shankar's rise coincided with some inconsistent performances from Rayudu. It affected the latter's selection so much that he wasn't even named in the 15 for the World Cup.

Upon being asked why Shankar was selected ahead of Rayudu by reporters, then-chief selector MSK Prasad said Shankar was a '3D' player due to his all-round abilities.

Rayudu then took to Twitter to post a not-so-cryptic tweet, which read:

"Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup."

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#1 Rohit Sharma

Probably one of the biggest redemption stories of the past decade in Indian cricket is that of Rohit Sharma. The right-hander's meteoric rise as one of the most dangerous openers in international cricket has been there for everyone to see.

His five hundreds in the 2019 World Cup is a record for the most centuries scored in a single edition of the showpiece event. However, several years before that, Sharma missed out on a spot in India's 2011 World Cup squad.

The explosive batter used to operate in the middle-order, an area where stalwarts like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni effectively picked themselves. The only spot that was there for the taking was the one at No. 4.

But a young Virat Kohli piled on the runs in the 12 months leading up to the World Cup and deservedly won his place in the squad. Sharma was gutted to not be selected in the squad for the ODI World Cup, having played in all the editions of the T20 World Cup by then.

He took to Twitter to express his disappointment by tweeting:

"Really really disappointed of not being the part of the WC squad... I need to move on frm here... but honestly it was a big setback... any views!"

Sharma has only gone from strength to strength from that point on to become virtually undroppable and is also the Indian team's current skipper. He could very well lead the team in the 2023 ODI World Cup, completing an incredible redemption arc.