Rahul Tewatia has been left heartbroken after the latest snub by the national selectors. The highly-rated allrounder could not find a spot in Team India’s new-look T20I side for the upcoming series against Ireland.
The selectors were expected to name a new-look side for the series as India’s Test team regulars are set to directly fly to England to prepare for the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston next month. Tewatia must have been fancying his chances to make it to the team after once again displaying his skills in IPL 2022.
But while the selectors did name a new-look side for the series, Tewatia could not find a spot in the team. Allrounder Hardik Pandya was named as the captain for the series while Rahul Tripathi earned his maiden call-up. Sanju Samson also earned a recall for the series. Suryakumar Yadav is also returning to action with the upcoming series.
Rahul Tewatia’s cryptic tweet:
The latest snub seems to have hurt Rahul Tewatia a lot and he did not shy away from expressing his feelings. Hours after the squad was announced, the allrounder took to Twitter to post an emotional tweet. With his tweet, he made it pretty clear that he was expecting to find a spot in the team and was hurt after the snub as he wrote:
“Expectations hurt.”
Expectations hurts ??
— Rahul Tewatia (@rahultewatia02) June 15, 2022
Tewatia is yet to play for Team India. Last year, he had earned his maiden India call-up for the five-match home series against England. However, he failed to make the cut for the series after failing to clear the fitness test mandated by the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI).
The left-handed batsman has been performing consistently in the IPL and has been one of the most sought after finishers in the competition. This year, he played a crucial role in Gujarat Titans’ victory, scoring 217 runs at an average of 31 and a strike-rate of more than 147.
India’s squad for Ireland series:
Talking about India’s squad for the upcoming series, several regular players are missing due to the Test against England. In the absence of the regular players, Pandya will lead the squad while Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be his deputy.
Head coach Rahul Dravid will also miss the tour in order to prepare the team for the England Test. In his absence, former India batsman VVS Laxman will be the head coach on the tour and will be assisted by Shitanshu Kotak (batting coach), Sairaj Bahutule (bowling coach) and Munish Bali (fielding coach).
Squad:
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
Ireland squad:
Ireland have also named their squad for the two-match series. The hosts have included uncapped players Stephen Doheny and Conor Olphert in their 14-member squad for the upcoming assignment. The duo have earned their maiden call-ups on the back of their impressive performances in the domestic circuit.
India and Ireland were last involved in a T20I bilateral affair back in 2018. On that occasion, the Men in Blue had swept the two-match series comfortably.
Squad:
Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Conor Olphert, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.