5 Indian Players Who Deserved To Get Picked For England Series

Jan 7, 2017 at 10:51 AM

facebook iconlinkedin iconmail icontwitter iconWhatsApp iconTelegram icon
5 Indian Players Who Deserved To Get Picked For England Series

The Board of Cricket Control For India (BCCI), on Friday, named a 15-member squad for both One-Dayers and T20Is against England, starting on January 15 at Pune.

Virat Kohli was named the skipper of both sides after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy position on Thursday. The inclusion of stalwart Yuvraj Singh in the side brought many smiles back for sure, and with Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina also making their comeback, the batting cordon looks quite dominating for the hosts.

Despite the surprise selections of rookie Rishabh Pant and veteran seamer Ashish Nehra in the T20 squad, MSK Prasad-led selection committee sent out a strong message to England that the hosts will come down hard at them, similar to what happened in Tests.

Having a good look at the squad, all departments look covered with even the back-ups rearing to make the most of their opportunity. However, there were a few players left, who had a great 2016 and deserved to be picked.

Sportzwiki brings you the names of five players who deserved to get selected.

5. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav’s unique bowling trait would have worked in India’s favour against England in the limited-over series.

The left-arm chinaman bowler made headlines for his exceptional performance with both bat and ball during Uttar Pradesh’s 2016/17 Ranji Trophy season. Kuldeep was the highest wicket-taker for his state with 35 wickets, while with the bat, he scored 466 runs at an average of 35.84.

Owing a one of its kind bowling action in cricket, Kuldeep would have troubled the England batters, given their terrible history against spinners on sub-continent tracks. He, in the past, by many Indian players has been claimed as one of the toughest spinners to be picked under any circumstances.

4. Shahbaz Nadeem

Shahbaz Nadeem is the highest wicket-taker in the 2016/17 season of Ranji Trophy with 56 scalps to his name.

If not any, then Jharkhand’s Shahbaz Nadeem deserved to be picked in the limited-overs squad. A very promising youngster, Nadeem is the highest wicket-taker in 2016/17 season of Ranji Trophy with 56 scalps to his name in 10 matches.

He was instrumental in Jharkhand’s run till the last four, where they lost to Gujarat and were knocked out. His purple patch did caught the eye of selectors, who picked him for one-practice match against England but overlooked for the ODI and T20 squad.

His selection over Ravindra Jadeja would have given Virat Kohli another option to test a relatively young spinner for future.

3. Mohit Sharma

Mohit Sharma’s presence in the squad would have given Virat Kohli a chance to explore his ideas in the bowling department.

In a country where the need of fast-bowlers is more than that of education loan, Mohit Sharma would have fitted into the squad perfectly. His good run with the ball in India’s domestic structure recently would have helped Kohli to extract more wickets from his bowling, at any stage of the game.

His experience of playing the 50-over World Cup would have helped him anyway, given the amount of rest Indian pacers require with the long Test series against Australia coming up. Having played alongside him in the past, Virat would have used him in different roles, knowing his strengths and weakness. His selection would have helped anyway the newly appointed captain to explore more bowling options ahead of the Champions Trophy in England, later this year.

2. Karun Nair

Karun Nair became only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to score a triple-century for India in Tests.

Only the second Indian in Test history to score a triple-century, and that too a fortnight back would have given him a place in any side in the world, but unfortunately not in the India’s limited-overs squad for the England series. The selectors overlooked the batsman, not even picking him for the practice games.

His reason of omission couldn’t be his form for sure, but could be his batting position. Inclusion of Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey in the middle-order, along with former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it wouldn’t have been possible for him to get a game.

However, his good form won’t keep him away from wearing the blue jersey for long.

  1. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant has scored 972 runs in the 2016/17 season of Ranji Trophy at an amazing average of above 81.

One of the brightest prospects currently, Rishabh Pant wasn’t picked for the England One Day series, and it’s disappointing to hear. The left-handed batsman became a household name when he notched up a triple-hundred (308) in the Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra in Mumbai, smashing 42 fours and nine massive sixes.

During the season, the rookie hammered nearly one thousand runs (972) at an average of above 81 and strike-rate of over 100 (107.28). His runs fetched him praises from across the country.

With him getting selected in only the T20 squad, Indian selectors should have gone for him looking into the future, rather than sticking with someone like Shikhar Dhawan, who doesn’t even promise consistency in 50-over format.

His talent, numbers and potential will surely award the youngster, and who knows, he might just make into the squad for the Champions Trophy.

Related Article
Graeme Swann Reckons World-Class Leg Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal Should Be In Indian Test Squad
Graeme Swann Reckons World-Class Leg Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal Should Be In Indian Test Squad

Jun 28, 2022, 6:37 PM


IPL 2022: The Next Two Months Are Going To Be Very Special, It’s Going To Be A Lot Of Fun, Says KL Rahul
IPL 2022: The Next Two Months Are Going To Be Very Special, It’s Going To Be A Lot Of Fun, Says KL Rahul

Mar 17, 2022, 2:02 PM


Shahbaz Nadeem Hopeful Of Getting Recalled In India’s Test Team In Next WTC Cycle
Shahbaz Nadeem Hopeful Of Getting Recalled In India’s Test Team In Next WTC Cycle

Mar 3, 2022, 4:29 PM


Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, And Ishant Sharma Doubtful For Next Test Tour To South Africa
Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, And Ishant Sharma Doubtful For Next Test Tour To South Africa

Dec 8, 2021, 4:42 PM


Yuzvendra Chahal Still Hopes To Represent India In Tests
Yuzvendra Chahal Still Hopes To Represent India In Tests

May 21, 2021, 3:53 PM


Ashish Nehra Impressed By Axar Patel Who Didn’t Repeat Mistakes Of Shahbaz Nadeem
Ashish Nehra Impressed By Axar Patel Who Didn’t Repeat Mistakes Of Shahbaz Nadeem

Feb 17, 2021, 6:39 PM


Desktop Banner
Mobile Banner