From Rinku to Ruturaj: Seven players unlucky to miss out from the India T20I squad for the West Indies tour

India will play a five-match T20I series against West Indies between August 4 and 13. With the ODI World Cup coming up later this year and the T20 World Cup a year away, India are taking this opportunity to give youngsters a chance in the shortest format.

The 15-member squad for the T20I series contains two players who have earned maiden call-ups to T20I squads – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma. Fast bowler Mukesh Kumar is yet to make his T20I debut as well, but he was part of the T20I squad for the series against New Zealand earlier this year.

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Apart from the selected cricketers, several others had done well in the IPL a few months ago. They were in the reckoning for selection but have eventually missed out.

Rinku Singh

Rinku’s exclusion has been the most surprising of all. He had a breakthrough IPL season this year, where he played the finisher to perfection for Kolkata Knight Riders, smashing 474 runs at a strike rate of 150 and an average of 59.2, and was widely expected to make the cut for this series.

The selectors, however, have gone with Tilak, yet another young left-handed batter. Apart from captain Hardik Pandya, the Indian squad has no designated finisher.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad made his T20I debut two years ago, and has played nine T20Is since. While he hasn’t performed to his potential at the international stage yet, he has been lighting up the IPL for several seasons now.

He made the cut for the Test team for the West Indies tour. However, with Shubman Gill, Jaiswal, and Ishan Kishan already present in the T20I squad, there was not much room for a fourth opener.

Jitesh Sharma

Despite being part of the T20I squads against Sri Lanka and New Zealand earlier this year, Jitesh did not get a game. Now, with the return of Sanju Samson, he has been left out completely.

Jitesh smashed 309 runs at a strike rate of 156 in IPL 2023, and had impressed with his ability to hit from ball one. In a series where India are looking to try out new players, Jitesh should consider himself unlucky to miss out.

Rahul Tewatia

Tewatia was around the Indian T20I setup in 2021 when England had visited for a five-match series, but he never made it to the main squad.

He has demonstrated his finishing prowess in the last few seasons of the IPL, performing a very niche role for Gujarat Titans since last year, where he only comes in to face the last couple of overs. This would have been the perfect opportunity for India to try him out. His leg spin would have been an added advantage as well, but the selectors have shown little faith in him.

Mohit Sharma

Mohit had a fairytale run in IPL 2023, finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker with 27 wickets from 14 matches. After serving as a net bowler for Gujarat Titans in 2022, he made his way through to the main squad and the XI this year and had a consistent impact with his cunning variations. His name did the rounds for a national comeback, but it hasn’t happened, yet.

Khaleel Ahmed

Since his international debut in 2018, Khaleel has played 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is. Despite being plagued with injuries, he has shown significant improvement over the last couple of IPL seasons, swinging the ball both ways and hitting the bat hard on impact. The left-arm angle provides him with an added advantage.

Across the last two IPL seasons, he has taken 25 wickets from 19 games at an average of 24.6, but that has not been enough for him to warrant a place in the Indian T20I side.

Shivam Mavi

Mavi made his T20I debut earlier this year against Sri Lanka and picked 4-22 in his first game. Surprisingly, he did not get a single game this IPL as Gujarat Titans stuck to Mohit, Yash Dayal, and Darshan Nalkande over him.

Currently leading Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, he has taken 6-44 in the first innings of the semi-final so far. For the T20I tour of West Indies, however, the selectors have decided to go with Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, and Mukesh instead.