India vs Bangladesh: 3 unlucky Indian players who deserved an opportunity in the T20I series

Having won the series decider at Nagpur by 30 runs, Team India clinched the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. After suffering a surprise seven-wicket defeat in the first game at Delhi, Rohit Sharma’s men bounced back strongly by winning the second T20I at Rajkot, thereby levelling the series 1-1.

Going into the final game of the series at VCA Stadium in the Orange City, all that Sharma’s men needed was to maintain the winning momentum to seal the series and they did just that. With half-centuries from KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer after a rare failure with the bat for stand-in skipper Rohit, India posted 174-5 in 20 overs which they defended successfully- courtesy a splendid display of bowling.

Deepak Chahar’s record-breaking spell and Shivam Dube’s vital breakthroughs made the Sunday evening a memorable one for every Indian cricket fan. Though it was a collective Team effort which made the result possible, a few talented players were not seen in action throughout the three-match series.

Let us now look at three unlucky Indian players who did not get an opportunity to don the India jersey in the Bangladesh T20Is.

Sanju Samson

The immensely talented Kerala wicket-keeper batsman has been on the Indian cricket team radar for quite some time given his consistency with the willow in IPL as well in the Indian domestic circuit. The 24-year-old grabbed the headlines during the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy having registered the highest List A score by wicket-keeper in the world.

It was also the highest List A score in Indian domestic cricket when he amassed 212* off 129 balls against Goa. Samson, who made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe at Harare back in 2015 was rewarded for his consistency across formats with a spot in the Indian team for the T20I series against Bangladesh.

Expectations were high for Sanju Samson to get the nod ahead of Rishabh Pant who wasn’t that impressive behind the stumps and if not at least to strengthen the middle order especially after the collapse at Delhi. Unfortunately, he was overlooked for all three matches much to the surprise of fans who wanted to catch a glimpse of the player in Blue jersey.