India vs Sri Lanka: Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar - should seize the opportunity
When India announced their squad for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which will get the home season underway, the apparent focus went to the T20I team, which featured many changes
Sanju Samson back in T20 internationalRohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant were all out, as was Bhuvneshwar Kumar. As if that wasn’t shocking enough, there was also space for some new players to be included.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> squad for three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvSL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvSL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mastercardindia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mastercardindia</a> <a href="https://t.co/iXNqsMkL0Q">pic.twitter.com/iXNqsMkL0Q</a></p>— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1607779542361591808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Three notable new players named in the squad were Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Mavi, and Mukesh Kumar.
Tripathi’s inclusion is, in many ways, inevitable, given he is a top and middle-order batsman. The absence of the likes of Rohit, Virat, Rahul, and Pant means there is a clear void atop the order.
And there is no guarantee that Tripathi will be fast-tracked to the playing XI, mainly because there is already so much talent in the squad for those positions.
But the fact that he has been previously named in India’s squads for various series without ever getting the chance to make his debut means he was always going to be in the reckoning.
Of course, this time around, he hopes to make his debut and show the world what he can do at the international level.
He has been a very consistent run-scorer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the domestic scene and would undoubtedly deserve being handed his debut cap.
Mukesh Kumar is another player who, like Tripathi, had to bide his time and be patient about getting that maiden call-up.
After all, the Bengal cricketer has been playing domestic cricket since the 2015 season yet has never come close to being named in an India squad during that time.
But he did well in India A tour against New Zealand earlier this year and was finally called up during the South Africa ODI series, but without getting a game.
It remains to be seen if he does get a chance to make his debut this time, but he is getting noticed for sure – Delhi Capitals picked him up for Rs. 5.5 crore in the 2023 IPL auction.
Unlike the other two, Mavi is a player who needs no introduction. He’s been a staple of the IPL since being signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018.
He is a pacy bowler who likes to mix in a few variations, although his figures can go awry sometimes, as he is yet to bring the kind of consistency into his game that separates good players from great players.
But he has the pace and has generally impressed for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic scene, where he often leads their pace bowling line-up.
His potential for him is clear, but whether or not he gets the chance to break into the Indian team so soon remains unclear.
What is clear, though, is that India are moving in a bold new direction as far as their T20I cricket is concerned, which should be lauded.