The Indian squad for the Champions Trophy was announced and there were quite a few names missing. The selection committee has gone for a mix of experience and youth and this has meant that some players have missed out. Here are some of the players who were unfortunate to miss out from the tournament:
Gautam Gambhir
The Indian batsman and KKR captain would consider himself unlucky for missing out on the tournament as he has a case for being in form. Gambhir was a stalwart of the Indian squad until around four years ago.
He hasn’t been able to feature in the ODI side and would have thought that the opening slot left empty by KL Rahul would have been offered to him. However, Shikhar Dhawan has been considered and Gambhir will have to perform in the domestic circuit to throw his name into contention again.
Rishabh Pant
The youngster was in red-hot form for the Delhi Daredevils and also had an incredible domestic season with Delhi. He will be upset to have missed out, especially after enjoying a superb IPL on the back of a great season.
He has also played for India in one T20I game last year against England. However, his talent is immense and age is totally on his side, which means a regular start in the squad could be possible in the future.
Yuzvendra Chahal
The Royal Challengers Bangalore made his debut for the country back in the series against Zimbabwe and also had decent success in the series against England. He would have thought the selectors would have picked him as a back-up spinner in the squad but they chose the experience of Ashwin and Jadeja over him.
He will be looking to perform better in the domestic circuit and making his way back into the team but for now he will have to wait in the sidelines.
Kuldeep Yadav
The 22-year old was really impressive in the Under-19 World Cup and went from strength to strength. He made his India debut in the test series against the Australians and picked up an impressive 4 wickets in his first ever outing.
The chinaman has the ability to pick up wickets in the most crucial of stages and showed his mettle with the Kolkata Knight Riders as well. He will now have to wait for his chance as he was not picked by the selectors and was placed in the stand-by list.
Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina would consider himself unlucky to have missed out despite his decent form off late. Yuvraj Singh and Kedar Jadhav have been selected for the middle-order spot which means Raina will have to go back to Uttar Pradesh and perform well domestically.
Raina has not featured in the Indian team for quite some team and will be waiting for his opportunity. His weakness against the short ball has been well-documented and he may use the time off to work on his technique.
By Rohit Nair
