India vs Australia 2019: 3 Indian players unlucky to be excluded from the ODI squad

India are set to play five ODIs and two T20Is against Australia. The T20Is will be played on 24th and 27th February, while the ODIs will be played from the first week of March.

Today, the BCCI selection committee announced the squad for the two T20Is as well as the ODI series. Indian opener KL Rahul is back in both the squads after he was dropped during the New Zealand series. Virat Kohli is back into the team as well, and he will captain the side.

India's front line fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is also making a return after some much-needed rest, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been not picked for the first two ODIs, but will play the final three.

The team that plays the final three ODIs is most likely to play in the World Cup 2019 too. Let's see the squad for the final three ODIs:

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohamed Shami, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant.

India is going with a strong team of 15 players for the final three ODIs against Australia. But there are a few who might feel unlucky to miss out; here's a look at three such players:

#3 Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya

Krunal has been a part of India's T20I set up for a while now. He did well with both bat and ball during the New Zealand series.

India are not playing Ravindra Jadeja against Australia, and hence the left arm spinning all-rounder spot is still vacant in the team. Krunal might not have got a chance to play even if he was selected, as India are blessed with several quality spinners. However, he would have been a good back-up in case any one of the spinners got injured.

The Baroda-born cricketer has been doing well in the domestic circuit as well. He scored twin centuries and took a four-wicket haul in a first-class game against Railways in December. Krunal also took a four-wicket haul in his last List A game, against England Lions.

The selectors might be right in going with seaming all-rounders, as England will likely suit the swing bowlers. But India is known for winning games through spin, even outside Asia.

Moreover, Krunal would have contributed the with bat as well, so trying him in the Australia ODI series might have been a good gamble.

#2 Jaydev Unadkat

Jaydev Unadkat

India have a terrific bowling attack that covers almost all the bases. If you look at the squad for the final three ODIs, you will see that there is a wrist spinner, a Chinaman, and both swing and fast bowlers.

The only thing they lack is a left-arm fast bowler. India reached the final of the 2003 World Cup, and Ashish Nehra was part of the team. And the Men in Blue won the 2011 World Cup when Zaheer Khan was India's left arm bowler.

To bridge this gap, India tried Khaleel Ahmed during the New Zeland series, but he proved to be quite expensive. They had another good option to try out in Jaydev Unadkat, who has played seven ODI matches for India, taking eight wickets. He has been consistently performing in both List A and first class cricket too, having taken 30 wickets in his last five first class games.

India might have missed a trick in not testing Unadkat during the Australia series.

#1 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has been in and out of the squad since 2004

Dinesh Karthik is arguably one of the unluckiest players to have ever played for India. He has been part of the squad since 2004, but has always been in and out of the team.

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer has missed grabbing his opportunities whenever they have been offered to him. But he has been in good form recently, having won quite a few matches for India in the last couple of years.

Karthik has got a lot of experience, so having him in the team would have helped India in many ways. The veteran has played 11 ODIs since the start of 2018 and although he has not managed to score a single fifty, he has got so many starts and remained not out in quite a few matches.

The former Indian wicketkeeper might yet again feel unlucky to miss out on the opportunity. We will now have to wait and see whether he gets a chance in the World Cup.