India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against England has been announced with some eye-catching selections. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami finally made it to the national squad after not having played international cricket for more than a year.
However, there were some notable surprises in the squad as well. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill, who are seen as the future of India’s batting order, were not named in the squad.
Rishabh Pant was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup win last year while Yashasvi Jaiswal was in the squad as a back-up opener behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill led the team in the absence of Suryakumar Yadav against Zimbabwe. However, none of these players were considered for this series.
Also read: India T20I squad for England series announced, Mohammad Shami returns, Rishabh Pant axed
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill dropped from India’s T20I squad?
According to a report in TOI, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill have been rested after a long and grueling Test series against Australia recently. All three batters were a part of India’s campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
While Jaiswal and Pant played all the Tests of the series, Gill played three Tests. Jaiswal even emerged as India’s highest run-scorer of the series in his maiden tour to Australia but Gill and Pant were not up to the mark.
These players could return to India’s squad in the upcoming ODI series against England which is also seen as the preparation for the following Champions Trophy. As a result, these young batters have been rested by the selection committee keeping their workload in mind.
“(Rishabh) Pant, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and (Shubman) Gill have been rested from this series to allow them to recover fully after a gruelling five-Test Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, for the ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy in February,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
ODI numbers of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill
All these players are highly important for India across the different formats and are seen as the future batting stars after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. While Gill and Pant have already played a fair amount of ODI cricket, Jaiswal is yet to make a debut in the format.
Shubman Gill has an outstanding record as an opener in ODIs and has scored 2328 runs in the format at an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 101.74. He is likely to partner the captain Rohit Sharma at the top in India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh.
Rishabh Pant has been given numerous chances in ODIs but hasn’t been at his best in the white-ball format so far. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 871 runs in ODIs at an average of just 33.50 which is way below his world-class reputation. It remains to be seen whether he gets the nod for the Champions Trophy or not.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is yet to make his ODI debut
Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t made his ODI debut but could be a part of India’s Champions Trophy squad as a third opener. Jaiswal has outstanding numbers in Tests and T20Is and it is only a matter of time before he scores runs massively in the 50-over format as well.
Along with these players, fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was also rested keeping his high workload in mind. Siraj played all five Tests in Australia. Jasprit Bumrah is also not a part as he continues to recover from the injury he suffered during the Test series in Australia.