3 players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for the World Cup 2023

After months of speculation, Team India have finally announced their squad for the World Cup 2023, and the contingent features a similar look to the their Asia Cup roster.

Most selections are along expected lines. KL Rahul has made the grade even though he didn't take part in the group stage of the Asia Cup, while Ishan Kishan has been announced as the other wicket-keeper.

At the same time, however, several players who were in the ODI fold over the last year or so have unfortunately missed out on the marquee event. With only 15 spots up for grabs, there are obviously going to be notable absentees.

India's squad for the World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav.

Here are three players who were unlucky to miss out on India's squad for the World Cup 2023.

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#3 Prasidh Krishna

Prasidh Krishna [left] was one of India's frontline ODI bowlers last year

Prasidh Krishna suffered a back injury last year that ruled him out of several assignments including the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). If not for the unfortunate injury, he would've probably been one of the frontrunners to make India's World Cup 2023 squad.

Prasidh made his comeback from injury in the T20I series against Ireland and impressed to make the Asia Cup squad. However, he is clearly behind Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the pecking order.

The tall fast bowler, who is one of the few out-and-out hit-the-deck options at the team's disposal, has thus been ignored.

Prasidh has scalped 25 wickets in 14 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.32, with two four-wicket hauls to his name. The 27-year-old would've been a valuable addition but now finds himself out of the mix.

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#2 Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar in action, New Zealand v India - 3rd ODI

India have most bases covered in their World Cup squad, but an off-spinner is not one of them. They didn't have many options to choose from, with Washington Sundar probably being the frontrunner in that department.

Sundar hasn't put too many feet wrong in ODI cricket, having made important contributions with both bat and ball over the last couple of years. The all-rounder has played 15 matches in the format over the last two calendar years, with 233 runs and 15 wickets to his name.

Sundar could've been the perfect choice to be India's third spin option on helpful surfaces, especially with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel being similar players. He didn't have a bad time in ODI cricket before being sidelined and now finds himself in the Asian Games contingent instead.

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#1 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson's ODI performances have been quite consistent

Perhaps the most unfair of India's selection decisions for the World Cup 2023, Sanju Samson has been excluded despite a promising run of form in the ODI format.

Samson has tallied 390 runs in 12 innings at an average of 55.71 and a strike rate of 104, with three fifties to his name. While it's understandable that Ishan Kishan was preferred ahead of him to be the backup gloveman, the selectors' call to pick Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Samson isn't backed up by numbers.

The Kerala batter's T20I returns and the fact that he has never gotten a consistent run of games in any format work against his favor. Even otherwise, though, he would consider himself unfortunate to have missed out.