The India squad for the series against New Zealand was picked in Mumbai on Monday and contrary to what many thought, it seemed a very predictable team with not many new inclusions.
We now look at 5 players who were unlucky to have not found a place in the 15-man squad.
5.Shardul Thakur
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India have been lucky in recent times, that a very able group of fast bowlers have emerged. Among them is 24-year-old Shardul Thakur, who has not just been consistent in the domestic circuit, but has also shown a penchant for wickets in the matches against Australia A in their own backyard.
Thakur picked up 3 for 42 in the second innings of the recently-concluded first four-day warm-up game and took a couple of wickets in the solitary ODI game that he played on the tour as well.
Based on an impressive domestic season, he was also picked for India’s tour of the West Indies and it seemed like even if he didn’t find a berth in the playing XI immediately, he would do so in the series against New Zealand at some point.
But the selectors had other ideas and he will now have to return to domestic cricket and get back to taking wickets and impress the new selection panel.
4.Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has shown on more than one occasion that he has got the game for limited-overs cricket and proved that further in the recently-concluded quadrangular series in Australia, where he led India A to a series win.
But in the next game, he showed that he had in him to do well in the longer format as well, smashing 77 in the first innings that helped India A reach 230 in their first innings.
Pandey should feel a bit letdown for not finding a place in the squad, despite consistent performances and will hope in the next meeting under the new regime, he finds a place in the squad. This is what former India batsman Vijay Bharadwaj had to say about the right-hander on his Twitter handle.
3.Sheldon Jackson
When one talks about the replacements for MS Dhoni in Tests, among the names that come to mind are Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha etc. But if there is one player, who should be considered in the same bracket, it is Saurashtra’s Sheldon Jackson.
The 29-year-old has been in impressive form in First Class cricket, having scored a hundred in the Duleep Trophy for India Blue in their final group encounter and then scoring a ton in the final as well.
Jackson averages an exceptional 53.62 in his First Class career and has played 40 matches, amassing 2966 runs and strictly on the form that he showed in the Duleep Trophy should consider himself a bit unlucky to have not earned a berth.
2.Gautam Gambhir
It's tough to be in the position that Gautam Gambhir finds himself in at present. Dropped from the team post the 2014 England tour, the 34-year-old has tried to get back into the scheme into things and finally it seems it slowly getting back into the groove.
The left-hander has been perhaps the best batsman, having made four consecutive 50+ scores, that included two 90s in the Duleep Trophy and those exploits with the bat raised optimism for a recall to the longer format of the game.
But it didn’t prove to be the case as the selectors decided to stick on to Shikhar Dhawan for the series against New Zealand. But there is no doubting that if the Delhi cricketer continues to perform on the circuit, he could soon be a contender for a place in the national squad.
1.Kuldeep Yadav
Perhaps the most unluckiest of the lot to have not found a berth in the squad is left-arm chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who was the most impressive slow bowler on view in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.
The 21-year-old picked up a six-wicket haul in the opening match of the competition to lead his side to a win and then took 7 wickets combined in the next two matches to take them to a finals berth.
Not many chinamans have come in Indian cricket and Yadav certainly provides the side with a different option, one which they could be kept in the reserves in the series against New Zealand.
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