5 Players who deserved but didn't get picked in India's squad for West Indies series

India is set to host West Indies for a three-match ODI series and as many T20 Internationals from February 6 to February 20. Due to rising COVID-19 cases, the BCCI recently changed the venues shifting the entire ODI series only to Ahmedabad while the T20Is will be played in Kolkata.

On January 26 (Wednesday), the board announced the squads for the series and a few players have either been rested or dropped. There is another list of players who were in contention to represent the team but have not been given a chance.

Let us take a look at the players who have been missed out on the ODI and T20I squads:

1. Shahrukh Khan

It is a very rare phenomenon to get a proper finisher in the team and India is lucky to have a player like Shahrukh Khan in the contention. His name was doing the rounds ahead of the squad selection and many expected him to get his maiden call-up in this T20I series, but he has not been included in the team.

The Tamil Nadu player had an amazing season with the bat this year in the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare trophies. He played the role of a finisher in the side and his six of the last ball in the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali against Karnataka aided Tamil Nadu in lifting their third title.

Shahrukh’s batting is most suited for the T20 format and has the capability to demolish bowling attacks at ease. His growth over the years has been incredible and he truly deserves a chance in the Indian team now or in the near future. As the Indian team is missing a finisher like Hardik Pandya in the squad now, Shahrukh would have been of great use in the T20Is.

2. Rishi Dhawan

Rishi Dhawan, the all-rounder, who is a right-arm medium-fast bowler made his international debut in 2016 against Australia. He played only three ODIs and has a solitary wicket with an economy of 6.40. He was dropped from the squad since his records were not impressive. In the same year, he represented the T20I team against Zimbabwe and picked a wicket, giving away 42 runs in four overs.

This was the last time he donned the India jersey. But, he has caught the attention of the national selectors after a period of six years by his explicit performance with the bat and ball in the recently held domestic tournaments. He led Himachal Pradesh from the front by being remarkable in all the roles.

Rishi was the second-highest run-getter with the bat and also the second-highest wicket-taker scoring 458 runs and picking 17 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and guided the team to a historic title. The 31-year-old was also the third-highest wicket-taker in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. He was expected to get recognition for his performance but wasn’t selected in either of T20I or ODI squads.

3. Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar was selected in India’s T20I squad in 2019 after his good display of leg-spin and googlies in the Indian Premier League. He was then picked in the secondary team of India against Sri Lanka and had a successful campaign there.

The youngster played his only ODI in Sri Lanka and picked three wickets with an economy rate of 5.40. He was selected in the T20 World Cup squad ahead of the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal and got only a match to play in which he was expensive and didn’t pick up a wickets as well.

He hasn’t been selected after the mega event though. Rahul, in his short stint in T20Is, has grabbed seven wickets in six matches at an economy of 7.59. This home series would have given him confidence, but the management has decided to go again with the Kul-Cha combo.

4. Venkatesh Iyer (ODI squad)

The cricketer who suddenly rose to fame and got the national call-up even sooner is Madhya Pradesh’s, Venkatesh Iyer. His bout in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders was marvellous. He was effective with both bat and ball in the league.

Venkatesh had a good run after that in the domestic season too and hence received his maiden call to the national T20I side against New Zealand. He was then roped into the ODI squad against South Africa. His debut ODI series did not go as expected as he hit just 24 runs in two matches and was used with the ball only in a solitary game.

The 27-year-old all-rounder is now only a part of the T20I series against West Indies and has been dropped from the ODI side after just testing his capabilities in two matches. He should’ve been given more chances and his omission seems more glaring as no specific all-rounder has been named in the side.

5. Axar Patel (from ODI squad)

Axar Patel is a bowling all-rounder who bowls slow-left-arm-orthodox. He played his first international match for the blues in the ODI against Bangladesh. He was then a part of the ODI squad for a period of four years and till now, has played a total of 38 matches and has picked 45 wickets at an economy of 4.43. Axar also has scored 138 runs with the bat.

This Gujarat player was then dropped from the squad in 2017 as his ally Ravindra Jadeja excelled in his spot in the eleven. Axar is now a much-improved bowling all-rounder and so, he was expected to be named in the ODI squad after recovering from injury more so when Jadeja is still not fully fit. But he has only been picked in the T20Is.

Axar is a kind of like-for-like replacement for Jadeja and could’ve played a crucial role with his all-round skills in the ODI series against the West Indies.