T20 World Cup: 3 lesser-experienced Indian players who might get a chance

With the conclusion of the third T20I against Sri Lanka on July 29 (Thursday), the Indian team played their last international match in limited-overs cricket before the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021. While most of the core players were unavailable for this tour due to the upcoming Test series against England, BCCI selected a team led by Shikhar Dhawan with some fresh faces for the recently concluded Sri Lanka tour.

The ODI and T20I series were the only chance for few players to make an impact and gain the attention of selectors. In this article, let us look at the 3 players who made an impact and might get a chance to play T20 World Cup this year.

3 lesser-experienced Indians who might get a chance in T20 World Cup 2021

1. Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav is not a new name among Indian T20 fans, playing for Mumbai Indians he impressed the selectors with his brilliant performances and got the national T20I cap in the England series. He played at number 3 in the last two T20Is against England and made 57 off 31 and 32 off 17.

The above-mentioned performances resulted in his selection in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. While he played at number three in England series, against Sri Lanka he played at number 5 in the three ODIs and his scores were 31* off 20, 53 off 44, and 40 off 37 respectively, and was awarded the player of the series.

Surya showed his versatility in the ODI series playing at number 5 and continued his red hot form in the only T20I he played with the score of 50 off 34. He might have cemented his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2021 with his explosive performances in this tour.

2. Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar is one of the best options who can swing the ball and take early wickets in the powerplay with the new ball. But his most impressive performance in this tour came with the bat when he scored a crucial 69* off 82 and helped India to chase down 275 after losing 7 wickets at 193 runs.

The performance with his bat surely made an impact on the selectors but let’s discuss his bowling performance. In the ODI series, he played 2 ODIs and took 2 wickets in each match and his economy were 5.29 and 6.63 respectively.

In the only T20I he played, he bowled three overs and took 2 wickets with the economy of 8 and took the important wicket of Charith Asalanka ( 44 off 26) which was the turning point of that match which Sri Lanka lost by 38 runs. His consistent performance with the bowl and a glimpse of his capabilities with bat surely made an impact on the selectors and he might be selected for the upcoming World T20 later this year.

3. Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar played 3 matches in this tour including 1 ODI and 2 T20Is. His impressive performances in IPL got the attention of the selectors and he got the chance to play again in the England T20I series after his only T20I match against West Indies in 2019. But his brilliant performances in the IPL 2021 where he took 11 wickets in 7 matches with an average of 18.36 helped him to play his maiden ODI against Sri Lanka in this tour.

In his only ODI, he took 3 wickets in 10 overs with an economy of 5.40, he also took the wicket of Avishka Fernando (76 off 98), despite his performance, India lost the match. In the last two T20Is, he got the chance to play and took 4 wickets. He managed to take the wicket of Wanindu Hasaranga in the second T20I and his economy was 6.75.

While in the third T20I where India managed to score only 81 runs in 20 overs, Rahul dismissed three Lankan batsmen and conceded only 15 runs in his 4 overs, he took the wickets of Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, and Sadeera Samarawickrama in his brilliant spell. With his impressive performances on this tour, he might be selected in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. The upcoming second half of IPL 2021 is the last chance to gain the attention of the selectors for some players and one can hope the selectors select the best squad for the World T20 2021.

~ Written by Sujoy Barg