5 Indian players who got dropped without playing a match ft. Avesh Khan

Avesh Khan recently earned a call-up to the Indian Test squad for the first two matches against England. However, the team management did not pick him in the playing XI and released him from the squad to play Ranji Trophy.

The BCCI selection committee dropped Avesh Khan from the squad for the remaining three Test matches of the series against England. Bengal's rising star Akash Deep has taken Khan's place in the squad now.

In this listicle, we will look at five players who made it to India's squad in a particular format but got dropped before their debut.

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#1 Avesh Khan, Tests

Avesh Khan has already represented India in ODIs and T20Is, but he is yet to receive his maiden Test cap. The right-arm pacer was in line to make his debut against England. Fans expected him to play in the second Test. However, Mukesh Kumar made the cut eventually.

Now that Avesh Khan has not received a place in the Indian squad for the remainder of the Test series against England, it seems unlikely that he will don the whites for India in the near future.

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#2 Rahul Tewatia, T20Is

Rahul Tewatia came into the limelight after his explosive finishes with the bat for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020. The all-rounder earned his maiden call-up to the Indian T20I squad for the series against England in 2021.

It was a five-match series in Ahmedabad. Tewatia did not get a single chance to play, and after that, the selectors never picked him even in second-string squads for the T20 format.

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#3 Saurabh Kumar, Tests

Spin-bowling all-rounder Saurabh Kumar has made it to India's Test squad on multiple occasions. Most recently, he joined the Indian squad for the second Test against England as a last-minute replacement.

Kumar has performed brilliantly in domestic cricket as well as for India 'A'. However, the Indian Test cap continues to stay away from the spinner as he has been dropped for the remainder of the series against England.

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#4 Priyank Panchal, Tests

Gujarat batter Priyank Panchal has been a consistent performer in first-class cricket. Panchal has scored heaps of runs in the red-ball arena. He even replaced Rohit Sharma in India's Test squad for the away series against South Africa in 2021/22.

However, the team management did not give Panchal a place in the playing XI. More than two years have passed since then and Panchal has not played a single Test for the country.

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#5 Abhimanyu Easwaran, Tests

Another top-order batter to feature on this list is Abhimayu Easwaran. The Bengal batter has made it to India's squad on multiple occasions, with the latest series being the 2023/24 tour of South Africa.

Like Priyank Panchal, Easwaran is still waiting for his maiden Test cap. The selectors did not name him in the squad for the ongoing home series against England. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Easwaran, Tewatia, Kumar, and Panchal get an opportunity to represent India in the coming years.