The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the 15-member squad for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. The summit clash will take place at the Rose Bowl in Southampton from June 18-22.
India’s 15-member squad
Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin. Ravindra Jadeja. Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj.
While Umesh Yadav and Wriddhiman Saha have been the surprise picks, there are also some players who deserved a place in the squad but had to miss out on seeing the competition. On that note, let’s have a look at the players who were the notable absentees from the squad:
1. KL Rahul
Taken for the slot of an opener and a middle-order batsman, KL Rahul impressed everybody in IPL. He was also the captain of the intrasquad practice match that took place in Southampton where he played a good knock against Kohli’s team.
But the shocking part is that in spite of impressing so much, he had to miss out on the place in WTC Final.
2. Mayank Agarwal
Before the squad was announced there was a major question that who will be opening alongside Rohit Sharma. Will it be Shubman Gill or Mayank Agarwal ? And the selectors have decided to go for the former as Agarwal failed to impress in the previous series against Australia and England.
However, Mayank was one of the highest run-scorers for India in the World Test Championship and deserved a place in the squad.
3. Washington Sundar
Impressing with both bat and ball in the absence of R Ashwin, Washington Sundar was the major find for India in Border – Gavaskar trophy. But he had to miss out for the place in the squad even after averaging over 66 with the bat.
With Ravichandran Ashwin being the first choice and the team unlikely to go with 3 spinners in English conditions, Sundar had to wait for his chances later in the series against England.