After an agonizing loss in the ODI World Cup final the Men in Blue are now aiming at the T20 World Cup 2024 this year in the West Indies and the USA. Before the World Cup, there are not many T20Is and the Indian team will have to make the perfect use of limited opportunities in order to prepare for the big event. India will play a 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan in a few days and in this article, we will take a look at 3 players who might not be included in the squad.
#1. Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has been potentially ruled out for the series because of an injury that he sustained on the South Africa tour. This is a big blow to the Indian team as Surya is the most reliable figure in that batting order in this format. His recent performances in South Africa were also impressive but he is expected to make a comeback very soon but unfortunately not in time for this series.
#2. Hardik Pandya
Team India’s star all-rounder has not yet recovered from the ankle injury that he suffered in the ODI World Cup match against Bangladesh. He was expected to make a comeback into the squad much earlier but his injury has taken unexpectedly more time to recover which has kept the Indian vice-captain away from the action.
#3. Tilak Varma
With the expected return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli into the T20 squad for the Afghanistan series there might be one or two young faces who might be dropped from the team, for now. Tilak Varma is one such potential face who might have to wait for his turn as he has not really delivered any jaw-dropping performances, unlike other newcomers like Rinku Singh. The selectors would be looking to give a bit more time to Tilak before fully integrating him into the Indian setup.