T20 World Cup 2022: Let’s be honest, India have had a disappointing Asia Cup in a tournament where they were touted to be favourites to go and defend their title, but that was not to be. While there were some performances that have given the management a welcome sight for sore eyes, some of the players have not exactly covered themselves in glory. These players will be under the spotlight and will definitely feel a threat to their places. With the squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 set to be announced on the 15th of September, the management will have some tough questions to answer.
Here are 5 players who could be dropped for the T20 World Cup squad-
1. Avesh Khan
The Asia Cup was supposed to be the tournament where Avesh Khan was expected to take the next step in his progression as a bowler, as well as justifying the faith that was shown on him by the Indian management and the captain. However, the pacer went on to have an absolute clanger of a tournament. If his performance against Pakistan in the opening game was bad, he followed it up with an even worse performance against Hong Kong, giving away 53 runs in his quota of 4 overs, before he was ruled out of the tournament due to illness. His poor performance coupled with the inability to bowl the right lengths have all but ensured that he will be definitely left out of the squad for the World Cup.
2. Rishabh Pant
The scenario with Rishabh Pant is a rather peculiar one. In the test match arena, he is arguably one of the best batsmen in the longest format of the game. But the moment the action switches to the shortest format of the game, his performances go down drastically, which is best seen by his rather ordinary strike rate. In this Asia Cup as well, Pant had two golden opportunities in the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka to do what he is so adept at doing and take the game away from the opponents. However, his propensity to do the outrageous, which is his biggest strength in tests, is the same thing that is his biggest weakness in T20s. In both games, he perished trying to do the unorthodox, which could have been avoided had he been a little more sensible. He has the talent and the shots to be a T20 sensation, but whether he has the time to do it remains to be seen.
3. R Ashwin
While R Ashwin is arguably one of the smartest cricketers in world cricket and brings a wealth of experience to the side, his ability to play in the T20 format always comes under the scanner. The fact that he is always on the bench in some of the key fixtures, which included games against Pakistan and New Zealand in last year’s World Cup. If he is getting selected only to warm benches in key games, one will be left to wonder as to what is the purpose of picking him. Surely there will be another option somewhere. Even in this tournament he was left out for both the games against Pakistan. Maybe T20 is a step too much for Ash at this stage of his career.
4. Deepak Hooda
Another one who was expected to do big things, after entering the tournament on the back of some really strong performances, Deepak Hooda wore the look of a man who was absolutely overrated by the big stage. He never felt comfortable or confident about his ability while entering to bat in both games, and that was evident in the way he was dismissed both the times. He was another one who was given a long rope and had the full backing of the management, and he hasn’t exactly repaid it, even though not bowling him was a blunder on the side of the captain. Hooda faces a rather twitchy few days, with him not a certainty in the squad compared to a month ago.
5. KL Rahul
With Team India have the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan amongst their ranks, it will become difficult to fit in KL Rahul amongst the mix. Though he scored some decent runs in a no-pressure match against Afghanistan, Rahul has been disappointing when his team have needed him the most. He is no Shikhar Dhawan and the world knows it. Teams have targetted his initial defensive and slow approach many times and he has failed to leave his mark. Further, he seems like a very selfish batsman who wants to score runs for himself, than actually help the team win. This is why dropping him from the squad could make total sense.
