India vs Australia 2019: 3 Indian players who should not have made it to the T20I squad

The Indian national selectors announced the squad for the T20 series against Australia. Some key players were expected to be rested for the series but the selectors opted to field a strong side against the Aussies. The only front line player who has been rested is Bhuvneshwar Kumar. While Mayank Markande is the only new face in the team.

India's squad for the T20I series: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Mayank Markande

It was a very peculiar situation for the selectors as there is very little to gain from this series. The entire focus is on picking the best possible squad for the World Cup and it wouldn't have been a bad idea to take this opportunity to get in young players like Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan in the team. We will look at 3 players who should not have made it to India's T20 squad against Australia.

#3 Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav has often been guilty of being inconsistent in limited-overs cricket. The speedster has been given ample amount of chances in the Indian ODI and T20 team, but unfortunately he has been wayward and leaked too many runs. After a good season for RCB in IPL 2018, Umesh was selected in India's limited-overs squads for the tour of England. However, he once again failed to keep things tight and was dropped from both the squads. But in a baffling move by the selectors, Umesh is back in the T20 squad. The 31-year-old hasn't really done anything special after being dropped and in fact he is in danger of losing his place in the Test side too. A young fast bowler in place of Umesh would have been a better pick.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

Things have just gone from bad to worse for KL Rahul after the tour of England. Rahul looked completely out of sorts against England and his poor form continued in the Test series against West Indies too. Despite his poor returns, Rahul was picked for the tour of Australia. The right-hand batsman looked awfully out of form and was finally dropped from the playing XI.

Then Rahul was banned from playing cricket for his off-field comments. However, his ban was lifted and Rahul was selected in the India A squad against England Lions. Just when Rahul's dream of playing in the World Cup looked all but over, the selectors gave him a new lifeline by selecting him in the T20 and ODI squad against Australia.

Interestingly, Rahul's T20 form hasn't been too good. While he scored just 59 runs in 3 matches against West Indies, the 26-year-old managed just 27 runs in 2 matches against Australia.

It will be interesting to see if this gamble pays off or backfires.

#1 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is an integral part of India's ODI side and his performance in the World Cup will have a huge bearing on India's chances in the tournament. However, the opener has been playing non-stop cricket since the tour of Australia. Rohit made a comeback to the Indian Test team against Australia and then played an important role in India's historic win in the ODI series against the same opponent.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, he also captained the Indian team in the latter half of the ODI series and in the T20 series against New Zealand. The selectors should have opted for someone like Shubman Gill, who is seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket. The selectors should have also been mindful of the fact that Rohit will play a lot of cricket in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians and the fatigue factor might come in when the World Cup finally arrives.