On Friday, BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It is a key series for the men in blue. They have to be at their best if Australia has to be beaten at home. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of three players unlucky to miss out on India’s BGT 2024/25 squad.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
1) Ruturaj Gaikwad
BCCI has selected Abhimanyu Easwaran as the backup opener. While his selection is justified, considering the talent that Ruturaj Gaikwad has, it is somehow unfortunate that he had to miss out.
Ruturaj is prepared for a role in the middle order, as well, and hence, it is a bit unlucky for him to not get a spot. Especially when he is the captain of India A touring Australia, he was expected to feature in the team.
2) Axar Patel
Axar Patel is one of the players unlucky to miss out on India’s BGT 2024/25 squad. It has been a tough few months for Axar in Tests. Washington Sundar has replaced him in the side.
Australia do not have a lot of left-handers in the middle-order like New Zealand and hence, having two off-spinners is a bold call to take. Axar would have added better value with the bat also.
3) Mukesh Kumar
He did well in the Irani Trophy and with Shami not there, Mukesh should have been the preferred choice. However, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana are in the squad.
While Prasidh is injury-prone, Harshit is yet to make his debut. Nevertheless, Mukesh is one of the reserves and if there is any injury, he is likely to come in.
