Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: Twitter)
The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) announced a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023 on Monday, August 21. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar along with India captain Rohit Sharma informed the media about the comeback of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer who have been out of the team for over a year. However, there were a few other surprise exclusions from the team that left the fans fuming all over India.
Let’s take a look at three unlucky players who missed out on the Asia Cup 2023 squad:
1. Yuzvendra Chahal:
Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: Yuzvendra Chahal/Twitter)
The wrist-spinner has been one of the unluckiest players from the Indian team in the past few years as he earlier also missed out on a place in the T20 World Cup 2021 squad. Chahal was seen in imperious form in the IPL 2023 where he scalped 21 wickets from 14 matches and became the highest wicket taker in the history of the tournament (187 wickets).
The 33-year-old has good numbers in ODIs since 2021 as well averaging just over 26 with the ball with 29 wickets from 18 matches. However, the Haryana-born bowler didn’t fit into the team’s combination once again and was left out of the squad.
2. Sanju Samson:
Sanju Samson (Photo Source: Twitter)
The wicketkeeper-batter has done everything right in his short ODI career so far as he boasts an average of 55.71 from 13 matches with 390 runs to his name at a strike rate of 104. He’s a Trivandrum-born player has also been brilliant with his glovework hardly missing any chance behind the stumps. However, the 20-year-old Tilak Varma, who’s yet to play am ODI was picked above Samson forcing him to be included as a reserve.
The 28-year-old was being touted as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the absence of injured Rishabh Pant. However, Ishan Kishan pipped Samson at the post, courtesy of his tremendous run in the ODI series against West Indies. Hence, he once again finds himself out of the 17-member squad.
3. Shikhar Dhawan:
Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo by SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP via Getty Images)
The opening batter has been India’s go-to man in multinational tournaments since his debut in 2013. Dhawan has been one of India’s most consistent batters since 2020 as he averaged above 50 in both 2020 and 2021. However, the year 2022 was a forgettable one for the southpaw where he amassed 688 runs in 22 innings at an average of 34.40 and a strike rate of 74.21.
Dhawan’s strike rate became the major factor in his ouster as the likes of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan wreaked havoc at the top of the order. Despite that, Dhawan’s exploits in major multinational ODI tournaments are hard to look over coupled with his vast experience of giving thunderous starts to the team. Dhawan’s absence from the squad came as a surprise to many considering his proven match-winning prowess in big tournaments.
Also see: India Final Squad for Asia Cup 2023