Indian Cricket Team: Four players who deserve more opportunities

The Indian Cricket Team is arguably the best team in international cricket at the moment; and with that distinction, comes great competition for spots in the team. In addition to the increasing competition for spots in the team, there are other factors such as conditions, team combination, and the subjective opinion of the selectors that prevent seemingly deserving players from playing more - or even from getting picked in the team.

However, that being said, there are certain decisions that the management and the selectors take that seem absolutely ludicrous, at least from the viewers' perspective. This slideshow looks at five players that have not been getting as many opportunities in the Indian cricket team as their performances merit.

Note: "More Opportunities" is a relative concept; this means that the list may comprise of certain players that, in the opinion of certain individuals, may have received an adequate number of opportunities.

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#1 - Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya, the elder brother of current Team India all-rounder Hardik and man of the match in last year's IPL final, seems to be ready for the step up; however, in spite of numerous match-winning performances against world class oppositions in the IPL, an India call-up eludes the Baroda all-rounder.

Granted, the team combinations and the decline of finger-spinners has not helped his case; however, the fact that selectors have called up other spin bowling all-rounders such as Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda to the national squad will surely make Krunal feel a little hard done by.

He has had three sensational IPL seasons, with his performance improving with each passing year, but the question persists: what more does he need to do? Despite the fact that the quality of cricket in the IPL is comparable to that in international cricket, there still seems to be a school of thought that to make a strong case for national selection, a player must show consistency in the domestic season, and in India 'A' opportunities, neither of which Krunal has done thus far.

Moving forward, Krunal will be looking to bring in that elusive consistency to further his case for selection in the Indian limited-overs squads.

#2 - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, who has been around for a long time, is playing, almost undoubtedly, the best cricket of his career right now. He has found a second-calling as a finisher in T20s, with a fantastic Nidahas Trophy and IPL; however, despite this, he was not in the team that faced Ireland in the first T20.

The issue over here is much broader than Karthik merely missing one game, the issue here is that the management of the Indian cricket team does not rate Karthik as highly as others, and this is perfectly seen in his treatment in the ODI side as well.

Since his return to the ODI side in 2017, Karthik has averaged 61, and while his average has been a rather pedestrian 70 (that, too is skewed by a few bad innings), he has still been able to finish games and steer India home in nervy situations.

Going forward, Karthik will be hoping that he can perform in whatever opportunities that he does get so that he gets even more opportunities in India colours.

#3 - KL Rahul

KL Rahul, who is regarded by many critics as the best-all format batsman in India after Virat Kohli, has been jerked around a lot - by the selectors and management alike. Two years after it seemed like he had cemented his spot in the side across formats in 2016, he finds himself benched in the Test team; dropped from the ODI team; and only occasionally playing in the T20 team.

The situation that he is in right now is criminal for a player of his talent and ability. His test match form, while not fantastic, was good in 2017. He scored seven half-centuries on the trot, and while he could not convert any of them into centuries, he still performed one part of his job extremely well by providing the Indian team with a good start on every single one of those situations.

Despite this, he was dropped and Shikhar Dhawan came into the team in his place. With India playing numerous tests overseas in this season, and with Dhawan known to be susceptible in those situations, Rahul is sure to get at least a few opportunities to re-stake his claim for a spot in the test side, and he will be hoping he can take them.

With regard to his place in the ODI and T20 sides, the situation is slightly more complicated, as India have one of their most prolific opening pairs in the limited overs formats right. As good as Rahul may have performed in the IPL, the team management has shown a clear proclivity on this matter: if Rahul is to make a spot in the limited overs side, in the long term, it needs to be in the middle order.

Whether it is justified or not is debatable, but the fact of the matter remains that for Rahul to be in the limited overs side, he needs to start performing in the middle-order.

#4 - Shahbaz Nadeem

This choice may spark debate given India's success in the spin department in the test format; however, Shahbaz Nadeem has done virtually everything a player in his position can to make a case for inclusion in the national set-up.

In the last three Ranji Trophy seasons, Nadeem has taken 125 wickets in 23 matches, a phenomenal record by any stretch of the imagination. Nadeem can be mighty effective, especially on Indian pitches, with his canny left-arm bowling, and to that his agility in the field, he makes for a good utility package as a player.

Mind you, he is no muck with the bat either; many a time in domestic cricket, he has shown the ability to apply himself and stick around with the bat.

With India having one of its best spin bowling pairs in the history of Indian cricket, there is little doubt that a call-up will elude Nadeem for a long time, and may possibly never come.

Despite this harsh reality, Nadeem will feel hard done by, for there is little more than he can do to push for a place in the side.