The BCCI has announced the Test squad for the rescheduled red-ball game against England, which is set to start on July 2 in Birmingham. A lot of familiar faces have made it to the squad. In fact, Cheteshwar Pujara, who was dropped earlier this year due to his string of failures, has made a comeback. The reason for Pujara’s comeback is the plethora of runs made by him in the ongoing County Championship.
Apart from him, Prasidh Krishna, who has been travelling with the team for the last year, has managed to retain his place. However, there are a few popular players who haven’t made it to the team. These players have either done well in First-class Cricket, or have been part of the team. In this listicle, we will discuss the three players who were unlucky to miss out on the selection.
Three players who missed out
- Mayank Agarwal
The opening batter has been part of the team since his debut in late 2018. The right-hander has played 21 games and has amassed 1488 runs averaging 41.33, four hundreds, six fifties, and the highest score of 243 runs. Whenever given the opportunity, he has delivered for the team. This is why he will be considered unlucky as the team has included Shubman Gill, who hasn’t had a great time with the bat after the historic Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21.
2. Abhimanyu Easwaran
The Bengal player was part of the team last year, when India went to England for the Test series. However, he didn’t get the opportunity to play. Abhimanyu has played 70 FC games, and has amassed 4841 runs, averaging 43.22, 15 hundreds, 20 fifties. With such numbers in the four-day cricket, it is interesting to see why he missed out on the selection. The team has only three options in the opening slot, them being Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill.
3. Sarfaraz Khan
The middle-order batter could have made it to the squad after his impressive show in four-day cricket. He averages 77.74 in 22 games and has amassed 2099 runs. The right-hander has six hundreds and as many fifties to his name with a highest score of 301. His critics might question his fitness, and say he is a bit overweight, but his ability to concentrate for long periods and score heavily suggests that he needs to be in the squad. Besides, he scored a whopping 551 runs in three games of the first phase of the Ranji Trophy earlier this year.
