IND vs ENG: Three cricketers who missed out on a spot in India’s Test squad
On January 19, Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an 18-member squad for the first two marquee Tests of the four-match Test series against England, starting from February 5 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. While a number of players including Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel made an entry in the Test squad, there were a few notable omissions that surprised the cricket fraternity. In this article, let’s take a look at 3 cricketers who missed out on a spot in India’s Test squad for the England tour.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
In the absence of pace mainstays Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, it was expected that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has recovered from his injury and is playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, will make a comeback in the Test squad for India. The bowler hasn’t featured in a Test since January 2018 as he had to undergo multiple surgeries over the past three years due to back-to-back injuries.
However, the selectors surprised everyone by not picking the veteran pacer. Bhuvneshwar has picked a whopping 63 wickets in just 21 matches at an average of 26.1 and economy rate of 26.1. He also has the ability to contribute with the willow down the batting order as he boasts of having a 22+ batting average.
T Natarajan
With his exemplary performance in the just-concluded India tour of Australia, T Natarajan has become a household name. The pacers breathed fire with the ball throughout the Australian tour and grabbed whatever opportunities came to his way with both hands. After making his T20I and ODI debut against Australia, Natarajan made his Test debut in the fourth match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He impressed the who’s who of the cricket fraternity as managed to rattle the opposition with his pace. The Tamil Nadu-pacer scalped 3 wickets including two important ones of Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade in the first innings. However, the Indian board decided to rest the pacer for the marquee England series.
Shahbaz Nadeem
The slow left-arm orthodox bowler Shahbaz Nadeem is one of the most under-rated spinners as he has remarkable numbers in first-class games with 443 wickets in 117 matches at an economy rate of 2.70 and an average of 28.7. Nadeem had also weaved magic with the ball in his only Test outing for India in October 2019 against South Africa by picking 4 wickets across two innings at an economy of 2.30.
It was believed that the spinner could get a place in the Playing XI in the absence of an injured Ravindra Jadeja. However, the selectors thought otherwise and Shahbaz failed to find a spot in the 18-member squad for the England Test. He has been named in the stand-by players’ list.
