3 Disappointing picks from India's squad for Australia tour

In the wake of COVID-19 conundrum, it is true that the Border-Gavaskar series will hit the floors in Australia amidst the strictest of health protocols at the end of the calendar year. It is worth noting that Indian cricket has been out of action for the past eight months owing to the ruthless pandemic.

The Indian cricket team is slated to play three ODIs, as many T20Is and four Tests against Australia from next month starting November 26 and the tour will go well into next year as well. The schedule though is officially yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) announced the star-studded squads on Monday.

Needless to say that the news spread like a wildfire all across the cricketing arena. While some raised questions over the picking up of young tweaker Varun Chakravarthy in the T20I squad, few seemed to be upset as limited-overs captain Rohit Sharma couldn’t make it to the squad owing to injury issues.

Let’s assess the names of the Indian cricketers who made it despite their thin chances of grabbing the opportunities with both hands:

1. Shikhar Dhawan

The Delhi-based cricketing persona adds spiciness with his trademark moustache in the gentlemen’s game. And the prolific match-winner is known for his extraordinary potential to give the Men in Blue brisk starts as an opener.

Making his bat do the talking, the flamboyant superstar has notched milestones time and again. The southpaw has racked up 1,588 T20I runs in the 60 international outings for the blue jersey till now. He has also been in a terrific form in the ongoing cash-rich Indian Premier League.

In the UAE, the vintage decimator hit back to back centuries against powerful tearaway bowling line-ups proving his position in the Indian team. However, his not-so-admirable run against Australia in the past continues to raise inevitable questions at him.

The batting dynamo’s tremendous form might help him though in doing well in Australian conditions. Hence, it will be exciting to see whether he will be able to weather the Australian storm or slip the ring for someone else to grab.