BCCI has announced the squad for the upcoming World Test Championship final and the test series against England after that. In all, twenty members would be travelling to England, for what would be an interesting few months for the Indian Cricket. However, few unlucky players have missed out on the WTC final and England Tour squad. We talk about them in this article.
Before that, let’s take a look at the team that has been selected: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), and Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).
1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is fit and is in good form at the moment. He is probably the best swing bowler in India currently. However, despite this, the experienced cricketer did not get selected in the WTC final and the England Tour squad. This essentially means that from now on, Bhuvi would be considered only for limited-overs squads.
2. Hardik Pandya – No Seam Bowling All-Rounder WTC Final And England Tour Squad
If not for the injury that is not permitting him to bowl, Hardik Pandya would have been one of the first names on the team sheet. He is the best seam bowling all-rounder that India has got and would have been useful in England. However, the current squad is without Hardik and there is not even one pace-bowling all-rounder.
3. Kuldeep Yadav – Four Off-Spinners In WTC Final And England Tour Squad
There are as many as four-finger spinners who have been selected in the WTC final and England tour squad. This decision seems surprising considering England is a country where the pitches offer very little purchase for the spinners. Instead, Team India could have thought about including a wrist spinner to add variety to the attack. Kuldeep was unlucky to miss out on this aspect.
4. Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw has shown good form in white-ball cricket but has not been picked for the Test squad. Considering he was in good form, it could have been worth selecting him. He must now have to work his way back by doing well in domestic cricket.
5. Navdeep Saini
Just a few months ago, Navdeep Saini was regarded as one of the future stars of the Indian pace attack. However, since the Australian Tour, it has been a downslide for the speedster. He has now missed the flight to England, and it will be a difficult comeback to make. There is plenty of competition, and Saini has also got very few opportunities to impress with the uncertainty around the Ranji Trophy.
6. KS Bharat – Not Selected In WTC Final And England Tour Squad Despite Saha And Rahul Yet To Recover
Since Wriddhiman Saha and KL Rahul are both subject to fitness clearance, it would have been wise for the management to include KS Bharat as Pant’s backup. Let alone the actual game, Team India would have needed a good wicket-keeper at least for the inter-squad practice encounters. Hence, KS Bharat is slightly unlucky to have missed out on a place in the Indian Team.
