"Kohli has his favourites"- Twitterati furious as Virat Kohli leaves out Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav will have to wait a bit longer to make his international debut as he has surprisingly not been named in Team India's playing XI for the first T20I against England at Ahmedabad.

Another big name missing from the playing XI is that of star opener Rohit Sharma as Shikhar Dhawan will open with KL Rahul at the top of the order. This was despite skipper Virat Kohli mentioning on Thursday that Rohit would open with Rahul.

Rishabh Pant's sensational form of late has helped him earn a comeback straight into the XI, which means another Mumbai Indians (MI) batsman in Ishan Kishan will need to wait for his debut.

In the bowling department, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Yuzvendra Chahal will be the three spinners. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will also make his comeback after a long injury lay-off, partnering Shardul Thakur with the new ball.

Fans on Twitter furious over Suryakumar Yadav's exclusion

Fans were heartbroken over the fact that Shreyas Iyer has been chosen over Suryakumar Yadav in the hosts' playing XI. Barring his match-winning cameo in the second T20I Down Under, Iyer was far from impressive in the limited-overs leg against Australia.

Having been a consistent performer for MI, Suryakumar Yadav seemed to be all but set to finally make his international debut against England in the first T20I. But that was not to be, and fans took to Twitter to express their frustration over his exclusion.

Many even believe that the face-off between him and RCB skipper Virat Kohli during an IPL 2020 game could be the reason the 30-year-old has been ignored yet again. Here is what they had to say:

So India make last minute tweak to the playing XI, resting Rohit, getting Dhawan to open with Rahul. And after all the pre-match build up, Suryakumar Yadav has to bide his time for the India cap

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 12, 2021

Will Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Ishan Kishan be sitting on the bench at the Ambani End? 👀 #INDvENG

— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) March 12, 2021

People waiting since days for Rohit Sharma & Suryakumar Yadav to play together in the T20 team for India now watching Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer in the playing XI!#INDvENG #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/qYEdst5nTy

— Vishal Verma (@VishalVerma_9) March 12, 2021

unlucky suryakumar yadav, he is anyday better than sheryas iyer

— A (@Hahahaitsokay) March 12, 2021

Rohit Sharma decided to sit out after Suryakumar Yadav was not picked. Once again standing with MI player. #INDvENG

— BiJay (@Bijaytherealfan) March 12, 2021

Suryakumar Yadav is anyday better than Shreyas Iyer. Long rope for Iyer is not ending. It's time for Suryakumar Yadav, but then Kohli has his favourites. 🤬

— Rajesh Abraham (@pendown) March 12, 2021

No Suryakumar Yadav. No Rohit Sharma. One can understand that Rohit has had a long test series but it’s very harsh on Suryakumar! He still has to wait for the Indian cap ! #INDvEND

— Pranav Damle (@pranav_damle) March 12, 2021

#INDvENG#T20I No Rohit No Kishan No SuryaKumar yadav in playing 11Mumbai Indians fans - pic.twitter.com/qkyra1qa4o

— Civil_engyneer07 (@SamCurranFC07) March 12, 2021

Send out a hug for Suryakumar Yadav. Lad has to wait some more for his turn#INDvENG

— Anand Datla (@SportaSmile) March 12, 2021

Why not #ViratKohli resting himself?Why #RohithSharma ?Why #SuryakumarYadav not playing?#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #INDvENG

— Bhautik Mehta (@bhautik_pm) March 12, 2021

How does neither Suryakumar Yadav nor Ishan Kishan get a chance when you consider India’s batting struggles in the middle overs? So many solutions to that problem for India...#INDvENG #INDvsENG

— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) March 12, 2021

Picking Shreyas Iyer over Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan is something I will never understand #INDvENG

— Ryan Mitchell (@95ryanmitchell) March 12, 2021

Suryakumar Yadav has amassed 1416 runs in his last three IPL seasons and also performed consistently in domestic cricket. He has been banging on the door of the Indian selectors for a long time and the entire nation was overjoyed when the 30-year-old finally received his maiden India call-up.

While there is a fair argument that Iyer hasn't done much wrong to make way for Suryakumar, the Mumbai batsman deep inside might be dejected.

Nevertheless, there are ample games remaining in the series and somewhere down the line, Suryakumar Yadav is likely to don the India Blue and prove his mettle.