BCCI Makes Changes to India Squad for Zimbabwe T20Is, Raises Questions About Player Omissions

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was compelled to make three alterations to the Indian squad for the T20I series against Zimbabwe due to several members being stranded in Barbados. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson, who were all part of India's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, were unable to depart the island nation sooner due to a hurricane threat that prompted the government to suspend all flights.

For the first two matches, the selectors named Harshit Rana, Jitesh Singh, and Sai Sudharsan as replacements. Harshit and Sudharsan were rewarded for their outstanding performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, while Jitesh has been in contention for a few years.

However, their inclusion raised questions about the omission of other Team India stars. Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Varun Chakravarthy, Mayank Yadav, Umran Malik, and Yash Dayal were among those who were overlooked.

Ishan Kishan's case is particularly intriguing. He was a regular member of the Indian team across all formats until the tour of South Africa, where he requested a break from the BCCI. Between that series and the T20 World Cup 2024 squad selection, several events occurred, leading the selectors to sideline the Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batter.

Kishan was reportedly asked to play Ranji Trophy for Jharkhand and other domestic tournaments to be considered for selection, but he opted to train with Hardik Pandya for the IPL 2024 campaign. This decision appears to have displeased the BCCI and selectors, who did not select him for the Zimbabwe series despite Sanju Samson's absence for the first two matches. The current pecking order suggests that Kishan is not even the fourth-choice option in the shortest format, with Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, and Jitesh Sharma ahead of him.

Kishan's case is not isolated, as similar questions can be raised about seven other players, including KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, two experienced Indian players who were also not selected for the Zimbabwe tour.

In the bowling department, the absence of Varun Chakravarthy, Mayank Yadav, Umran Malik, and Yash Dayal also raises questions, while many believe that an all-rounder like Venkatesh Iyer could have been considered.

Tags: #Cricket, #TeamIndia, #ZimbabweTour, #PlayerOmissions, #IshanKishan