IPL 2018: 5 unlucky players who should have made it at least into India A squad

Amidst the IPL extravaganza, BCCI announced the Indian squad for the limited-overs games in the UK and India A squad which will tour England along with the squad for the historic test against Afghanistan. Just like any other squad announcement, some of the players are left disappointed for not being able to make the cut.

BCCI has already stated that the squad selection for tours of India and India A teams to England will be made in line with the plans for the 2019 World Cup. So a few players who missed a place in the Indian squad got a chance to prove themselves playing for the India A side touring England.

After impressive performances in IPL, quite a few players were selected to play for India in the UK. While Siddarth Kaul is part of the whole limited overs leg, Shreyas Iyer and Ambati Rayudu were selected for the ODIs against England.

A few other players like Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill find a place in India A squad for tri-series after putting up impressive performances in the IPL.

India A squad for tri-series: Shreyas Iyer (C), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Vijay Shankar, K. Gowtham, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur

In spite of having good outings in the IPL, a few players have missed out on traveling to England. Here are the five unlucky players who could not make it to India squad or India A squad which travel to England:

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#5 Mandeep Singh

Mandeep Singh is the only Indian batsman, apart from Kohli, in the Royal Challengers Banglore's side who has performed with the bat. Mandeep has scored 232 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 143.20.

Mandeep's performance in this year's IPL has been much better than his overall IPL record. His overall strike rate in IPL is around 125 which is much less than his strike rate this year. Even his average has seen an increase from 21.67 to 33.14.

Mandeep Singh has been performing consistently not just in IPL but also for Punjab in the domestic circuit.

#4 Nitish Rana

After playing two seasons for the Mumbai Indians, Nitish Rana has changed his base to Kolkata and has been an important player for KKR. He has been performing well for the Kolkata-based franchise with the bat and the ball.

In the nine innings that he played for KKR, he scored 219 runs with an average of 31.28. and a strike rate of 131.92. He has been crucial in KKR's fight to make into playoffs and will hope that he can build partnerships in the middle overs.

Rana also has been good with the ball for KKR. He has a knack of picking wickets for his team. In the 5.1 overs that he bowled in the tournament, he was able to pick up four wickets and that too of crucial batsmen.

With the present Indian team lacking batsmen who can bowl a little if needed, Rana's presence in the team will provide an extra bowling option to the captain.

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane was named the captain of the Indian side playing against Afghanistan but was dropped from the ODI squad playing in England. Last year Rahane lost the vice-captain position in ODIs to Rohit Sharma and is now dropped from the side.

Rahane was supposed to make the No. 4 position his own and he was given ample opportunities including the ODI series in South Africa earlier this year. The Mumbai batsman did not live up to the expectations and has lost his place in the squad.

But a player of such high quality is important for India's chances to win the 2019 World Cup. Rahane has been in decent touch in the IPL and has scored 239 runs with an average of 29.87.

Rahane would want to perform well in the next few IPL matches and in the Afghanistan test so that he can be in contention for a place in the WC squad.

#2 Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma represented India in 2 T20Is against Zimbabwe and has been sidelined since then.

Sandeep first played for Sunrisers this year as a replacement for injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the playing XI. In the opportunities that he got, he has impressed one and all and has retained his position even after the comeback of Kumar.

In the six matches that he played so far, he has picked up seven wickets. But what is more impressive about his performances in this year's IPL is his economy rate. His economy rate of 5.26 is the best in the tournament.

Sandeep Sharma would have been a very useful bowler in English conditions which provide assistance to swing bowlers. As a quality swing bowler, he might be a useful option in the 2019 World Cup to be played in England.

#1 Surya Kumar Yadav

Surya Kumar Yadav is the leading run scorer for Mumbai Indians

Surya Kumar Yadav was bought by his hometown franchise and he has been going all guns blazing for the Mumbai Indians. He is the leading run-scorer for them with 399 runs in 10 matches and is third in the race for orange cap. He is the leading uncapped player in the list of top run-getters in the tournament.

After joining the MI, he has been getting more time in the middle which wasn't the case when he was playing for KKR. Opening the batting, he gets more time to spend in the middle and he has been using the opportunities well.

In eight of the ten innings that he played, he has crossed the 25-run mark and was able to convert the starts into half-centuries on four occasions.

He is third on the fourth cap list and will look to continue his performances in the last few games as his performance will be crucial for their qualification to playoffs.