The Indian team’s administration in a bid to showcase its strength sent two sides to two different parts of the world, playing cricket at the highest level. This led to a lot of players from the youngster’s pool getting a chance to be featured in the team’s limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, there will be a lot of players who might not get a chance to play in the Sri Lanka series. So, let us have a look at their names here.
1. Nitish Rana
One of the players who has shown a lot of potential in the Indian Premier League and the Indian domestic circuit in the last few years, Nitish Rana’s name had been in contention for an India team berth for quite some time now. And now that he’s in the side, all that he would want is to make his debut.
But as things are in the Indian team, he might not get a chance to play in the XI. One of the biggest reasons for this is the position/role that he plays in the team. He does not have a fixed position in his IPL side, which is the benchmark these days for players coming out of the Indian circuit. He was a middle-order batsman, who in his last game in the tournament, played as an opener. And, with players like the Pandya brothers who have a lot of definition to their game, he might be one of those players who might not get a chance to play in the Sri Lanka series.
2. Krishnappa Gowtham
A part of the lot that has come closer than ever to realizing their dream of playing for team India, a street cricket prodigy, Krishnappa Gowtham, in spite of having earned a place in the Indian team’s lineup of players in their overseas tour, is likely to be a part of that lot of players who might not get a chance to play in the Sri Lanka series.
Having played 24 games in the Indian Premier League, he has scored 186 runs and taken 13 wickets in total so far. He also replicated similar or even better numbers in the domestic matches too, which brought him on to the radar of the selectors. But there are much more experienced players in the side, and it is due to their presence that would not make him the first choice or name in the line when the playing XI is being chosen for the matches in Sri Lanka.
3. Chetan Sakariya
Chetan Sakariya’s rise in the world of cricket has been a story that has been spoken and narrated a lot. His style of play and the praises that he garnered from a legend like Kumar Sangakkara during IPL 2021, was a testament to how talented he was. His efforts paid off when he was selected to be a part of the Indian team travelling to Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series.
With the amount of experience, he has though, he might very well end up being one of the players who might not get a chance to play in the Sri Lanka series. He has only 7 matches in IPL under his belt, and others like Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, already in the team, he might very well serve as a stand-in player who might be utilized only if one of the other pacers in the team get injured or terribly fail at delivering.
4. Rahul Chahar
The younger one of the Chahar brothers in India’s team that is travelling to Sri Lanka, Rahul Chahar, the leg-spin bowling all-rounder, is one of the few entrants in this list who has an international debut under his belt.
After grinding hard in the domestic circuit, and of course, the Indian Premier League, both of which places, he found his share of success, he finally got his international call in 2019. He was even a part of the Indian team that played limited-overs games against England earlier this year, but he did not come out to be the prodigal player that everyone wanted him to be. In this team, his chances of getting to start in the playing XI are pretty grim because the captain and coach have players like Krunal Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal, and the amount of experience and the credibility of sorts that come attached with their names, they are the ones who would be picked over Chahar, the younger one.
5. Ruturaj Gaikwad
A true revelation of the Indian Premier League, Ruturaj Gaikwad and his batting for the Chennai Super Kings have carved out an identity of their own. After setting the stage on fire in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Gaikwad made his way into the IPL and set the stage on fire upon his arrival.
He practically single-handedly solved Chennai Super Kings’ opening batsmen problem after the departure of Shane Watson, and was really good at doing it. In the 13 matches that he has batted in IPL so far, he has scored 400 runs, but his chances of becoming a part of players who might not get a chance to play in the Sri Lanka series are higher than those of him getting a chance to play in the XI. The openers’ slot, where he usually bats at, is in all probabilities will be occupied by the team’s captain, Shikhar Dhawan, and his IPL batting partner Prithvi Shaw, slimming down or literally eliminating his chances of being one of the starters in India’s XI.
