5 players who should have been picked for T20I squad

India's squad for the solitary T20I against doesn't include some stellar names. But the chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad said that the whole reason behind the wholesale changes was to find a core of players that will play for India in the 2019 World Cup.

While that sounds like a great idea and one that might well prove to be incredibly successful, it was surprising to see India not pick some talented T20 stars for the solitary T20I that they will be playing against Sri Lanka.

Preparing for the World Cup is one thing, but have T20 specialists strut their stuff in the format is an idea that still seems lost on India. So there were several players, who were unlucky to miss out on a spot in the T20I side.

Here are five players who should have been picked for the T20I squad:

Suresh Raina

The future of Suresh Raina in the Indian colors is a curious one. He hasn't been played an ODI since 2015 and with the emergence Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya, who seemed to have taken up the finishers' role, it looks unlikely that he will be able to mount a serious comeback into the side.

However, his T20I role is far more complicated. With nearly 7,000 T20 runs to his name, he is India's leading run-scorer in the format. While his numbers for India have been slightly worse than his career T20 numbers, he still has been good enough to warrant a place in the T20 side.

He was included in the T20I squad to face England at the start of the year but has surprisingly been left out of the next two T20 squads. On the back of another good IPL, Raina has proven his fitness and has been working incredibly hard to reclaim a spot in the T20I side.

However, he hasn't got the opportunity to prove himself despite being one of India's best T20 batsmen of all-time. At 30, all is not yet lost for Raina, but he will be hoping that he gets his chance sooner rather than later.

Rishabh Pant

Pant failed to make the cut for India's third T20I series after featuring in the first two

Much like Suresh Raina, another players the selectors have been sending mixed signals about has been Rishabh Pant. On the one hand, MSK Prasad said that Pant is "one talent to watch out for the future." He also added: "We all know Rishabh Pant more as a Twenty20 player, so we will look at him in that format also."

However, despite these words, Pant, who enjoyed a decent IPL and a good start to his T20I career has been dropped for the solitary T20I against Sri Lanka after being picked for the first two T20I series of the year, against England and West Indies.

While the 19-year-old didn't have the greatest run in the recently-concluded A-team tri-series that India A won in South Africa, that was in List-A and it is hard to hold that against a promising young player who has already shown signs of being ready for the international stage.

Siddarth Kaul

Kaul impressed in both IPL 2017 and in the recently-concluded A series

For a long time, India had a dearth of good death bowlers. However, currently, they are blessed with quite a few. Perhaps that was why Siddarth Kaul, who impressed in both IPL 2017 for Sunrisers Hyderabad and the A series in South Africa, where he finished as the third-leading wicket-taker, wasn't considered for selection.

While there is a degree of similarity when it comes to bowling in ODIs and T20Is, the reality is that both involve a specific set of skills. Bowling in T20Is is an art and bowling at the death, especially is one that is difficult to master. But in IPL 2017, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kaul showed that he had the presence of mind, the skills and composure to execute his plans and come out on top.

The 27-year-old is certainly on the selectors' radars but was surprising to see him left out of the T20I squad, that had plenty of new faces, including Shardul Thakur.

Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep just hasn't been able to make the cut in T20Is despite an impressive track record

Despite being a consistent performer in the IPL for an inconsistent side, Sandeep Sharma has failed to add to his two T20I appearances for India, that came against Zimbabwe in 2015.

While the 24-year-old has never been particularly quick, he has all the necessary skills required to be a successful T20 bowler. Slower balls, yorkers, variations and bouncers, you name it, the right-arm pacer from Punjab has it all. And he has consistently been among the wickets as well.

Since his appearance for India in 2015, he has picked up 32 wickets in the next two editions of the IPL. Among Indian bowlers, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal have picked up more. While all three are in the T20I squad, Sandeep has found himself on the sidelines once again.

With age still on his side, he will be hoping that his opportunity to showcase his skills in the format, comes up, sooner rather than later.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal was unlucky to miss out on a spot

T20s is a format where being multi-dimensional is a huge asset. Whether you are a batsman who can bowl a couple of tidy overs or a bowler who can whack a couple out of the park, being skilled in more than one facet of the game is a huge asset.

Krunal Pandya, much like his brother, who has quickly established himself as an integral part of the Indian side since his debut, is someone who can contribute with both bat and ball. And that is why it was surprising to see that after resting the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the selectors didn't opt for an all-round option.

With Yuvraj Singh not included as well, this would have been the ideal opportunity to determine if the 26-year-old all-rounder from Baroda has what it takes to cut at the international level. However, the selectors opted against taking that chance.