3 high-profile players who may not be part of India's 2020 T20 World Cup plans

After the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup, the next ICC event is the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to be held in Australia in 2020. All the teams will soon begin their preparations for this mega event.

In the build-up to the World Cup, a plethora of youngsters who have impressed in leagues around the world will get a chance to showcase their skills.

Shreyas Iyer has been rewarded for his domestic performances with a call-up to the national squad

India have already signaled their intent and are set to give opportunities to young talents in the upcoming West Indies series. Three players have earned their maiden call-up whereas five players have been recalled into the T20I squad.

At the same time, a few players seem to have fallen out of favor with the selectors. In this article, we look at three players who may not be part of India’s 2020 T20 World Cup plans.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has failed to make a mark in the opportunities he's been given

Dinesh Karthik was selected ahead of the young Rishabh Pant for the World Cup 2019. The selectors at the time stated that his experience and better wicket-keeping skills were the main reasons behind his inclusion.

However, when the Tamil Nadu batsman got a chance in the playing XI he failed to make a mark, and has now been axed for the West Indies tour.

It was only last year that Karthik stroked a breezy 29 to help India win the Nidahas Trophy final from the jaws of defeat. At that time he was looked at as a back-up keeper to MS Dhoni, and he even earned a Test recall.

But Karthik's inconsistency meant that he was never able to seal a spot, and he now looks out of favor for good.

In a career which has, till now, spanned over 15 years, Karthik’s inability to marry his potential with consistency has let him down big time. He doesn’t seem to be in the selectors’ scheme of things for the 2020 T20 World Cup.

#2 MS Dhoni

With young and talented batsmen emerging, Dhoni is no longer the first-choice wicketkeeper

It’s hard to see MS Dhoni playing in next year’s T20 World Cup. The legend who captained India to glory in the game’s shortest format in 2007 may well have played his last T20I innings.

With young, talented and hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsmen such as Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson emerging, Dhoni is no longer the first-choice wicket-keeper - at least not in T20Is.

It is also worth pointing out that Dhoni was not picked for the three-match T20I series against West Indies and Australia last year. In those two series Pant and the now discarded Dinesh Karthik were chosen ahead of Dhoni.

Dhoni has taken a break for the next two months and in his absence, Pant will be slotted into the middle-order. If the youngster does well, then the selectors may give him a long-term green signal ahead of Dhoni.

#3 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina's stock has gone down in the last couple of years

It was not long ago that Suresh Raina was regarded as India’s best T20 player. Year after year he churned up runs for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, and set new records.

However, Raina's stock has gone down in the last couple of years. The runs have dried up and he is now no longer the fittest man on the park.

In this year’s IPL, Raina managed to score 383 runs at an underwhelming average of 23.50 and a strike-rate of 121.97.

He last played T20 cricket for the Men in Blue in England last year. He seemed out of his comfort zone there and was continuously troubled by bouncers, a delivery which has hounded him over his entire career.

Raina, India’s first batsman to score a T20I century, is now well past his prime and is unlikely to make it to India’s squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup.