T20 World Cup 2020: 5 players who might not feature in India's playing XI

With the men's T20 World Cup 2020 already in sight, the management of all the international sides would be busy in trying out various permutations and combinations to figure out a title-winning team. Cricketing giants such as Australia, England, New Zealand and India have more or less balanced combinations, but they surely wouldn't want to rule out anything just yet.

With sides like South Africa going through major shakedowns such as the axing of veteran Faf du Plessis and appointment of Quinton de Kock as skipper, it is clear as day that every team is in it to win it. Sides like Bangladesh may even look to try out some of their star players as part of their promising young talented side that recently won the Under-19 World Cup.

The Indian cricket team, in particular, would be very confident of their chances in the tournament, given their recent 5-0 series win against the Blackcaps in New Zealand. However, that doesn't in any way mean that the Men in Blue don't have their own issues with respect to team selection.

As convincing as the series victory against New Zealand was, it did bring into light some of the issues that could possibly haunt India in the World Cup. With the team having fallen victim to the 'semifinals curse' in the last few tournaments, the management would want to leave no stone unturned.

While they may have a problem of plenty in virtually all departments, the selectors and coach would have to make some tough calls in order to find the winning combination. This would include the axing of some big names that have either come in with a ton of hype behind them, or mainstays who just haven't delivered.

On that note, here are five players who might miss out from featuring in the playing XI of the Indian team.

---

#5 Kedar Jadhav

The 34-year-old batsman from Maharashtra, once regarded as India's solution to the 360 phenomenon sweeping (and reverse sweeping) by the cricketing universe is neither as effective nor as explosive as once was.

Kedar Jadhav was rated highly as a finisher, and also as someone who could also chip in with a couple of overs, if any of the main bowlers had a bad day. On his day, he'd even be able to work his way to a wicket with his golden arm. Injuries in recent time have ensured that he watches the action from the bench, and this irregularity has also impacted his performances during games.

The batsman does come with experience, but when the runs aren't coming and haven't been on display for a while, something's got to give. Manish Pandey, who is game ready and has been in good form throughout the last year with respect to both domestic as well as international T20s could be a likely replacement.

Another option could be Suryakumar Yadav, who bats around the same position as Jadhav can be given a go. Of course, he'd have to be tested in game situations first, but given his domestic form over the last couple of years, one could say he's been knocking on the selectors' doors for a while now.

#4 Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube bowling against New Zealand

The all-rounder from Mumbai, who was brought in as a replacement for Hardik Pandya has done less than little for one to make a case for his inclusion in the XI. Barring the lone half-century in the T20 series against the West Indies, Shivam Dube has not taken the chance that so many youngsters wait years for, with both hands.

With the ball, he has little to no luck with his pace and variations. Having recently been smacked around the park for 34 runs in an over by the duo of Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert, his outings with the ball too have not been impressive, to say the least.

When a player averages 17.5 with the bat and has an economy of over 10 runs an over after 12 T20Is, it often tends to make the case for a replacement. In this case, it is a no brainer that Hardik Pandya will return to the side provided that he's fit, and will take back his rightful spot as the medium-pace bowling all-rounder.

#3 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant

In a tale of mismanaged cricketers, Rishabh Pant would have to make the cut. Pant as a cricketer has had record-breaking performances as a test wicket-keeper batsman, and sub-par outings as a limited-overs wicket-keeper batsman. However, he was constantly being included in the limited-overs outfit, and until recently, was kept out of the test team.

Speaking strictly with respect to T20Is, Pant has been a shadow of his IPL self. For a youngster who used IPL to toy with the best bowlers in the world, he finds himself getting out in T20Is by assigning no value to his own wicket. In the event that the star-studded top order collapses, it'd definitely be hard to rely on Pant based on his T20I form over the last two years.

Given that KL Rahul has now donned the role of the wicket-keeper batsman in the T20I outfit, and given that skipper Kohli has confirmed that this is a long term solution, it is highly probable that Pant would be excluded from the playing XI for a majority of the World T20 matches, even considering that MS Dhoni might be back in the squad.

#2 Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar

In a team filled with enough and more spin bowling options, the need for a player with Washington Sundar's skillsets doesn't arise. Plus, given that Ravindra Jadeja is almost an obvious inclusion, Sundar will have close to no role to play. Even when the youngster has been included in the playing eleven, he has neither had a major impact with the ball nor has he had enough time on the field with the bat.

The 20-year-old all-rounder from Tamil Nadu has an average of 6.5 with the bat, and a miserly economy rate of 6.93 with the ball, after 22 matches. He has managed to take 19 wickets from the 22 outings. While Sundar hasn't done much wrong, he doesn't have any match-winning performances to his name that would make the captain or coach make a case for his inclusion in the XI.

Even in the event that the team wants to try something new and rest Jadeja, it is more likely that they'd bring a specialist middle-order batsman in his place in the playing XI.

#1 Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson

The wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala was knocking on the selectors' doors for the longest time before he finally earned a call-up to the squad. He travelled with the team but then didn't get a game for quite a while. However, when the day finally came when Sanju Samson got the go-ahead, he failed to impress.

Granted, he has had just 4 outings so far in the T20I format, but Samson has looked to prove a point by trying to smash every ball out of the park. What this has ended up doing, is showcase that he has perhaps forgotten to value his wicket. In four innings, he has just managed to score 35 runs. Despite the fact that he has looked to be overly attacking, he has a meagre strike rate of 97.5.

Moreover, with KL Rahul being backed as the wicket-keeper and Rishabh Pant, in all likelihood, being in the 15-man squad as the backup keeper, the team that is already top-heavy would benefit from a middle-order specialist or a backup opener like a Shubhman Gill or a Prithvi Shaw.