The Indian cricket team is gearing up to make its return to the global cricketing arena soon as the Men in Blue will pay a visit Down Under for a tour against the Aussies. It is noteworthy that India had visited Australia just a couple of years back, where Virat Kohli and co. registered a historic Test series win.
The Test series was followed by an ODI series, where the Indian team prevailed 2-1. Soon, Australia visited India to play a 5-match ODI series and won it by 3-2. Earlier this year, the Aussies came to India again and played another 3-match ODI series. India won that by the scoreline of 2-1 despite losing the first match by 10 wickets.
India and Australia have played against each other quite frequently, but the squads have not been the same. On comparing the Indian ODI squad that faced Australia in January with the one that has been announced for the upcoming tour, the fans can notice that the following five players have been axed from the team.
#5. Rohit Sharma
Perhaps, the most shocking name absent from the Indian squad for the tour of Australia is Rohit Sharma. The right-handed batsman had suffered an injury while playing for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020. The seriousness of his injury was not publicized, but BCCI ignored Rohit because of that.
It is noteworthy that Sharma was the second-best batsman from the Indian team during the series against Australia in January. He had scored 171 runs in three innings, hitting 16 fours and six sixes.
#4. Kedar Jadhav
After his disappointing performances for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020, it looks like Kedar Jadhav’s IPL career has come to an end. The all-rounder had gained a spot in the squad for the home ODI series versus Australia.
However, his name is absent from the massive group of players that will tour Down Under in 2020-21.
#3. Shivam Dube
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s all-rounder Shivam Dube had a forgettable IPL 2020 season. The big-hitting batsman from Mumbai had impressed many fans with his towering shots. Some even labeled him as the 2.0 version of Yuvraj Singh.
But his success did not last long. Dube has been pretty inconsistent in both departments. Also, he is not one of the best fielders. Thus, he lost his place from the squad.
#2. Srikar Bharat
Very few fans might know that Srikar Bharat was a member of the Indian squad for the home series against Australia. The wicket-keeper batsman did not get a contract from the IPL teams and was playing in the Hyderabad T20 League recently.
Bharat has made a name for himself in the longer formats of the game. Still, the selectors did not give him a place in any of the squads.
#1. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant was deemed by many as the next MS Dhoni of India. The youngster even played a couple of impressive knocks with the bat. The team management supported him a lot. However, Pant could not make the most out of the opportunities that he received.
One can say that there was too much spotlight on the youngster, which ultimately resulted in a decline of performances. Pant has been struggling in IPL 2020 as well. Although his team finished in the Top 2 of the points table, the left-handed batsman could not make his presence felt in the Delhi Capitals jersey.
After a splendid performance against New Zealand, KL Rahul seems to have cemented his spot in the Indian middle order. He is the only wicket-keeper present in the Indian ODI squad for the series against Australia. Still, Pant has earned a spot in the Test squad, and he will look to regain his touch Down Under.
