Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and other unpicked players who deserved a spot in Indian Squad for Zimbabwe tour 2016

5. Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir has been the most consistent batsman for the Knight Riders over the past four seasons

When a veteran of 147 ODIs and 37 T20I doesn’t get picked in the limited-overs squad despite being the best batsman for his IPL franchise over the past three seasons, it does raise some questions about the selection process that has been put into practice. It will not be an understatement if it is said that Gambhir was one of the major forces behind the Knight Riders’ title-clinching IPL campaigns in 2012 and 2014.

Since 2012, his batting averages in the IPL have been 39.33, 25.37, 22.33, 25.15, and 39.41 (in a chronological order) and has accumulated over 2000 runs in the league. He has maintained a decent strike rate of around 120 and while that may not have been an extravagant one as far as T20 cricket is concerned, it should certainly have held him in good stead for the ODI team.

In the ongoing season, wherein the Delhi southpaw has successfully led the Knight Riders into the final four and would be competing for the title, he has aggregated 473 runs from 14 games so far at an average of 39.41 and a strike rate of 123.49. However, it wasn’t enough for him to get picked for the Zimbabwe tour.