3 Indian cricketers who might not get a game during the upcoming T20 Series against Australia

Team India is set to get back into action this Wednesday when they square off against the Australian cricket team in a T20I match to kick-start their 2-month Australian sojourn. India is set to play three T20 matches, four Test matches, and three ODIs as part of this tour.

India has already announced the squads for T20I series and Test series. They are yet to announce the squad for the ODI series.

India's squad for T20I series - Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed

Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who skipped the T20 series against West Indies, makes a comeback. MS Dhoni's hasty retreat from T20I cricket has opened the doors for his long-term compatriot Dinesh Karthik to have a steady run in the playing XI.

India is not expected to make many changes to their XI that played in the last game against West Indies. The team's premier players Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to get back into the playing XI in place of Manish Pandey and Washington Sundar.

Here are 3 players who might not get a chance to play a game during the upcoming T20I series against Australians -

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#3 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer

The Delhi Daredevils skipper Shreyas Iyer made his T20 international debut last year against Sri Lanka in Delhi. But since then, he has failed to cement his position in the star-studded batting line-up of India.

He is basically a middle-order batsman who plays at number three or number four position for his franchise and state teams. The current Indian team is already crowded with exceptional players in the top order and upper middle order. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli are almost indispensable at the top of the order. This has forced KL Rahul, who is the highest-ranked Indian batsman in ICC T20I rankings (4th position) to play at number 4 in the batting line-up.

All of the top 4 batsmen are in good form, so it looks highly unlikely that team management will tinker with the successful combination at this point. So only during the occasion of unfortunate injury or resting of any of the top order batsmen, the fringe batsmen might get a chance to play a game.

Also, in such a case, Manish Pandey will be the one to get the nod ahead of Shreyas Iyer, as he has been with the team for a longer period of time and was also a part of playing XI in their recent T20 match.

#2 Washington Sundar

Tamil Nadu off-spinner Washington Sundar made his T20I debut last year

Tamil Nadu off-spinner Washington Sundar made his T20I debut last year against Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Since then, he has played seven T20Is for India and picked up 10 wickets. He possesses an excellent economy rate of 6.03 in T20I cricket.

He was initially selected for the T20 series against England earlier this year but had to miss out due to an unfortunate injury. Krunal Pandya replaced him in the subsequent series and went onto to debut for India against West Indies.

Washington Sundar may not get an opportunity in the upcoming series as India already have two world-class spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad. The absence of Hardik Pandya will force the team management to pick the all-rounder Krunal Pandya in the playing XI to maintain the balance of the team.

Unless one of the spinners performs dismally, Washington Sundar might not get a game in the series.

#1 Manish Pandey

With the line-up already filled, Manish might find it difficult to make it to the playing XI.

Middle order batsman Manish Pandey once again may be relegated to the bench during the upcoming T20 series as the middle order looks settled for now. KL Rahul will continue to bat at number 4 in the near future given his stupendous record in the shortest format of the game. Rishabh Pant is seen as the long-term wicket-keeping prospect, so he might get a lengthy run at the number 6 position in the line-up.

The finisher's role in the team has been assigned to seasoned campaigner Dinesh Karthik who has been stable at that position till now. So with the line-up already filled, Manish might find it difficult to make it to the playing XI.

He will most probably get an opportunity to play only if one of the top or middle order players gets injured or decides to rest.