The Indian Cricket Board announced the squad for India’s tour of South Africa last night. The tour will consist of three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests. As expected, the ODI team consists of more younger players while some seniors returned for the T20Is. It is more or less a full-fledged side for the two-match Test series.
However, there have been some players who the fans expected to be part of some team or the other but have not been able to make the cut. There have been debates about how the players might have been in the running for a particular format. Let’s take a look at three players who would not be traveling to South Africa this month.
3 players who missed out on India’s tour of South Africa
3) Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav (Source: Twitter)
During the WTC Final at The Oval vs Australia, Umesh Yadav did not play at his best. In the match, he was only able to take two wickets. Umesh did not get any wickets during the game’s opening innings as well. After suffering a hamstring injury, Umesh also skipped a few matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2023 Indian Premier League.
Over the past three months, the pacemaker has not appeared to be in good rhythm. He was dropped from the West Indies tour due to a hamstring injury. But during this tour, he has been completely dropped and chances have been awarded to Mukesh Kumar and Praidh Krishna.
2) Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane (Source: Twitter)
Ajinkya Rahane is one of the most notable player who may be left out of India’s team for the tour to South Africa. Rahane, a former vice-captain of Team India in Test matches, was benched at the expense of younger players because he was inconsistent.
In Test cricket, Shreyas Iyer performed admirably and would be the ideal choice to take Rahane’s spot. Even after dropping Ajinkya Rahane, the selectors were able to cover all the bases since they now have squad depth with KL Rahul. However, this is one of the biggest calls that the selectors have made for the series.
1) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s influence in international cricket has gradually diminished. In January 2022, Bhuvneshwar Kumar participated in an ODI, and in November 2022, a T20I. He wasn’t even able to get a spot in the team during the last year, despite being considered India’s strike bowler before the World Cup.
Bhuvi’s international career has virtually ended, as seen by his prolonged absence. The 33-year-old is starting to be replaced by younger players on the selector list. Had he remained in coach Rahul Dravid’s or captain Rohit’s plans, he would have been given the chance to play South Africa in the upcoming tour.
