T20 World Cup 2022: Eleven who missed the bus

However, given only 11 players can play at a time – and that the team will generally travel with a squad of 15 players for tours or tournaments – it does mean that many won’t get that coveted India cap. 

Worse yet, many will get that cap, be unable to solidify their spot in the playing XI, and then be dropped from the side. Or worse, miss a place in the squad for big tournaments. 

With that in mind, here are 11 players who can feel aggrieved at missing out on a shot at the 2022 T20 World Cup. 

Shubman Gill – The flashy young batsman has featured regularly for India, but mostly in test and ODI cricket. His time in the T20I squad hasn’t been too long, despite having a splendid IPL 2022 and being part of a winning Gujarat Titans side.

Ruturaj Gaikwad – The CSK opener was part of the squad after IPL 2022, but poor performances and an ill-timed injury put the kibosh on his chances of being in the team. Injuries keeping someone out will also be a central theme in other entries on this list. 

Ishan Kishan – Another player who was part of the squad post-IPL, Kishan put in a few decent performances but was dropped for no apparent reason. His dropping wasn’t that much of a shock, but it should be acknowledged that his performances were quite good.

Shreyas Iyer – An excellent start to 2022 and a decent IPL with the bat meant many saw the Mumbai batsman as a deadset certainty in the squad. However, a weakness against the short ball saw him fall down the pecking order, although he is in the reserves. 

Sanju Samson – Samson did get a few look-ins in India blue, but they mostly came when India played their ‘B’ team. More than his omission, the fact that he never was in the scheme of things in the first place surprised many people. 

Venkatesh Iyer – Admittedly a left-of-field choice, but given India have no back-up to Hardik Pandya; it was a surprise they ditched Iyer so quickly. His poor IPL form didn’t help, but his limited showings for India had been decent. 

Washington Sundar – Another case of injuries wreaking havoc on plans, Washington may have been the first in line to replace the injured Ravindra Jadeja. Instead, Sundar’s poor record with injuries means he was never in the reckoning, to begin with. 

Ravi Bishnoi – The one bowler who can quickly feel hard done by, Bishnoi was part of all significant tours but dropped for Ravichandran Ashwin for no good reason. The young leggie had done well in his limited chances, which made the call all the more surprising. At least he’s in the reserves. 

Deepak Chahar – Yet another case of injuries ruining a chance, Chahar was a regular in the team before his significant injury ahead of the IPL. He did recover just before the squad was announced, but limited game time meant he was never in with a chance, only making the reserves. 

Mohammed Shami – The most baffling omission from the team. He didn’t get a game post-IPL despite doing well with Gujarat Titans. Then he was drafted in for the Australia T20Is and contracted COVID. He is currently slated to miss the South Africa T20Is but is still a reserve player. 

Prasidh Krishna – A young pacer who’s impressed a lot in recent times, Prasidh barely got a look-in but did well when given a chance. His pace and bounce would have been good in Australia, but ill-timed injuries did him no favours.