4 Indians who may never play T20I cricket again

India are currently the No.2 T20I side in the ICC rankings. The team has come a long way from being a nation who was reluctant to play the shortest format to one of the leading teams in the format. Previously, the Men in Blue used to play a maximum of 4 T20Is every year (except WT20). It was for the first time in 2015 that India hosted a full-fledged 3-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.

The growth of T20 cricket in India can be attributed to the IPL which has thrown numerous talents. These talents have been nurtured to world-class players today. They are capable of winning matches against any team anywhere across the globe.

Saying so, some cricketers who were already doing well in the Test and ODI team found it extremely challenging to adapt to the standards of the T20 cricket. Despite being given a long rope, these players failed to deliver and find themselves out of the national contention.

Let us take a look at 4 players who may never represent India again in the shortest format.

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#4 Mohammed Shami

Shami has totally gone off the boil in the shorter formats.

Once looked upon as an exciting prospect in abbreviated formats of the game, Shami's limited-overs career has completely gone off the boil and is currently out of the ODI and T20I setup.

Coming from a breed of pure Test-match bowlers, Mohammed Shami's biggest drawback has been his length in T20 cricket. Shami might be a master at bowling good-length in Test match cricket, but the same length is bread and butter for batsmen in the shortest format of the game.

The Bengal pacer played a few T20Is for India in the ICC WT20 2014, but other than that, he has never played T20I cricket consistently. In 7 games, Shami has 8 wickets at an expensive economy of 10.55.

Looking at these performances, it is unlikely that he will represent India in T20I cricket ever again. His last appearance came against the West Indies at Jamaica in July 2017. India currently has a crop of specialist pacers in T20 cricket like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Siddharth Kaul. These pacers with a proven track record make Shami's return in T20I's a bit difficult.

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane has been often criticized for his low strike rate.

Regarded as one of the most fluent openers in the history of IPL, Rahane has surprisingly found it very tough to replicate the same form at the International level. After being given a string of opportunities, the Mumbaikar has never consistently delivered for team India and finds himself out of the national reckoning.

Ajinkya made a smashing T20I debut against England at Old Trafford in August 2011. He scored 61 off 39 balls which remains his only score of 50+ in the shortest format. In 20 T20Is, he has scored only 375 runs at a mediocre strike rate of 113, figures which clearly do not do justice to his talent.

With KL Rahul establishing himself in the Indian T20 team after his swashbuckling performances and India unlikely to break the Rohit-Shikhar opening duo, it seems highly unlikely that Rahane will be considered for T20I cricket again. Also, there are tons of other young talents waiting in the wings to get into the side which further sums up the things for the Mumbaikar.

#2 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja's T20 international record has been very poor considering his standards.

The Saurashtra born all-rounder was considered to be the next big thing in the Indian cricket in the 2012-13 period. For a number of years, Jadeja was a regular in India's white-ball setup. The fortunes changed for 'Bapu' in 2017 when he lost his place from India's ODI and T20I team.

Like his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja too was found guilty of going for too many runs. He also hardly proved to be effective down the order with the bat. In 40 T20Is, Jadeja has scored just 116 runs at a strike rate of below 100 and an average of 9.

After the emergence of Kuldeep, Chahal and Washington Sundar, Jadeja's days with the Indian team in T20 cricket seems to be over. In the IPL too, he has not been able to deliver consistently for some years now. Jadeja seems to be another one who will fade away after a string of shoddy performances.

#1 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravi Ashwin last played a T20I for India in July 2017

India's ace off-spinner might be irreplaceable in the Test squad, but his T20I career seems to be virtually over. The Tamil Nadu spinner has been out of the ODI and T20I team for more than a year now.

In his T20 career, Ashwin has played 46 matches. He has picked 52 wickets at an economy of 6.98. His defensive mindset of bowling at the pads and trying to contain the batsmen instead of tossing the ball up and looking to pick wickets has brought about his downfall.

With India having discovered two spin-bowling gems in the form of Kuldeep and Chahal who are capable to win games outside Asia, it seems that the selectors will never consider Ashwin again for the T20I matches.