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The national selectors have the toughest job when it comes to the selection of a team especially for a World Cup. The advent of IPL has opened the horizons for selection and young players from all over the country have the opportunity to showcase their talent on the biggest stage.
Restricting the squad to 15 players in a country where there is no dearth of talent is indeed challenging. Often, players who have been in red-hot form just before the tournament miss out on being a part of the team.
Here is a look at five such Indian players whose omission from a World Cup squad raised eyebrows.
#1 Rinku Singh - T20 World Cup 2024
Despite having an average of 89 and a strike rate of 176.24 in 11 T20I innings, Rinku Singh did not find a place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The left-handed batter from Uttar Pradesh is a part of the reserves.
Rinku has done no wrong in the shortest format in the last year and his exclusion has raised a few eyebrows. He has been the perfect finisher for Team India and his presence in the middle order will be missed in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA.
The selectors preferred to go in with the in-form Shivam Dube ahead of Rinku Singh for the mega tournament.
#2 VVS Laxman - ODI World Cup 2003
The stylish VVS Laxman was almost certain to make it to the Indian squad for the World Cup 2003. However, the selectors went ahead with Dinesh Mongia for the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.
Laxman was in good form in ODIs and was disappointed to be left out of the squad. In a home series against the West Indies a few months before the big-ticket event, Laxman scored 312 runs in seven innings at an average of 52 including three half-centuries.
India reached the final of the World Cup 2003 and ended up as runner-up. For the records, Laxman's replacement Dinesh Mongia had an ordinary tournament averaging 20 with the bat in six innings.
#3 Rohit Sharma - ODI World Cup 2011
The current Indian skipper was left out of the Indian team that emerged victorious in the World Cup 2011. Rohit Sharma was very much in the fray of selection for the mega tournament and was almost certain to make it to the final 15.
However, selectors named an extra spinner in the squad and Rohit was left disappointed. He expressed his views on Twitter, writing:
"Really really disappointed of not being the part of the WC squad.. I need to move on frm here..but honestly it was a big setback..any views!!"
To date, Rohit rues on missing out on the opportunity to play in the World Cup 2011. Rohit has been an integral part of the Indian limited overs setup since 2013 and has not looked back since then.
#4 Yuvraj Singh - ODI World Cup 2015
The Player of the Series of the World Cup 2011 was expected to be in India's squad for the World Cup 2015 despite not featuring in the ODI team for over a year.
When asked about Yuvraj's omission, the then BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said his name emerged in the discussions but wasn't considered worthy of selection. Post Yuvraj's exclusion from the World Cup squad, fans took to social media to express their disappointment.
India reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand and lacked the killer punch in the tournament. India sorely missed Yuvraj's presence in the middle-order. Stuart Binny, who was picked as India's all-rounder for the World Cup did not feature in a single game.
Yuvraj Singh made a strong comeback to the Indian ODI team in 2017 and in 10 innings, he scored 372 runs at an average of 41.33 including his highest-ever ODI score of 150 against England in Cuttack.
#5 Ambati Rayudu - ODI World Cup 2019
Rayudu was touted as India's No.4 for the World Cup 2019 and was groomed for the position. In 2018, in 10 innings, the stylish batter from Hyderabad scored 392 runs at a healthy average of 56 including a century and three half-centuries.
In 10 ODI innings before the World Cup, Rayudu averaged around 31 and was expected to board the plane to England for the mega event. However, the selectors sprung a surprise by excluding Rayudu from the final 15-member squad and chose Vijay Shankar as his replacement.
The then chief selector MSK Prasad clarified that Shankar was a three-dimensional player and was hence selected for the World Cup.
Rayudu was irked by his non-selection and tweeted:
"Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup.."
Post that ODI World Cup snub, Ambati Rayudu never played for India again.
