India vs Australia 2017: 5 players who were unlucky to miss out

The Indian team for the ODI series has been announced and like every series, the squad will be subject to debate and deliberations.

The selectors have continued their rotation policy as they look to build the nucleus of the side leading up to the 2019 World Cup. The series against Sri Lanka did throw up few names which can be invested into.

However, barring a couple of changes in the bowling attack, the selectors have named the same batting lineup which does leave out few of the promising names and hence poses the questions about the 'so-called' experiment.

Here in this article, we take a 5 players who were unlucky to ,miss out on their spots.

#5 Dinesh Karthik

The Tamil Nadu batsman is a unique case, and in many ways he is an enigma. He was in the squad for the Champions Trophy and then went across to the West Indies where he scored some useful runs, but was axed for the Sri Lanka series.

This home season could have been a great chance to test out his mettle at that number 4 spot which is still very jittery in the Indian line-up.

Also, he could have provided a cushion to MS Dhoni with the gloves, if the team decided to play Dhoni as a specialist batsman at number 4.

#4 Shardul Thakur

Deserved a longer rope

The Maharashtra seamer garnered eyeballs more for his jersey number than his performances on the field. However, away from the frenzy, he did have quite a promising debut against Sri Lanka in the fourth match.

He slipped away in the subsequent match, but surely he deserved a longer rope as he has all the credentials to be a good bowler in helpful conditions and with the next World Cup slated to be held in England, the Indian selectors could have persisted with him for a longer time which would have only given him the confidence to express himself much better on the field.

#3 Shreyas Iyer

Too good to be kept out

The young promise from Mumbai has been knocking on the door for quite some time now. He was included in the Test squad against Australia but could not get in a game.

However, his stocks continue to rise as he is peeling off runs in the Domestic setup as well as with the India A side.

He had a glittering IPL season this year and followed it up with solid performances for the Indian A side in South Africa where his rapid hundred against South Africa A helped his team emerge champions.

The selectors could have thrown him in the mix as far as the top order of the current Indian team is concerned.

#2 Yuvraj Singh

A pretty decent comeback

When the southpaw was axed after the West Indies series, MSK Prasad said that it was part of the rotational policy which they will follow to build a core team.

However, Yuvraj has not made it to this side as well and this then forces the selectors to clarify their stance on him.

Yuvraj looked fairly good in the series against England and followed it up with a decent Champions Trophy, but has since dropped out of the radar. This series could have been his swansong series, but clearly the selectors think differently.

#1 Rishabh Pant

An experiment worth the risk

Not since MS Dhoni has any wicket-keeper batsman generated so much interest in Indian cricket. Pant, the young Delhi wicket-keeper has forced people to take notice of him, and even the selectors are keeping a close eye on him.

However, he is still not in their scheme of things for ODI cricket which is bit of a mystery as they are banking heavily on MS Dhoni and if things do not according to plan, the Indian team and its selection could be in a quandary come the World Cup.

This series could have been the best possible way to usher in Pant and then give him the license to play his natural game, which would have also allowed the selectors to make up their minds with a lot more clarity.