Team India squad for the upcoming Test series against West Indies was announced on Friday (June 23). All eyes were on the 17-man Test squad as India start their new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle after losing two consecutive WTC finals to New Zealand and Australia respectively. In the aftermatch of the latest WTC Final loss at the hands of Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav have been dropped.
On the other hand, youngsters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been included in the Test set up while Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar are the other two additions to the squad. Mohammed Shami has been rested to manage his workload. However, there were a few players who deserved a call-up based on their performances in the domestic circuit.
Here we look at 3 Players who deserved to be in Test team:
1. Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has been banging the door of selection for the Indian team for last few seasons now. He has been consistently performing in Ranji Trophy and even in the previous season, he amassed 556 runs in only nine innings for Mumbai. The man scored runs at an average of 92.66 with three centuries and one fifty to his name. Even in the last couple of seasons, he has been at the top of his game in red-ball cricket. With the start of new WTC cycle, it was being presumed that Sarfaraz Khan will be given an opportunity but he remains on the sidelines yet again.
2. Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal
Well, this man not making a comeback continues to stun many in the fraternity. There was no reason for Mayank getting dropped in the first place and now despite performances in Ranji Trophy, he is not getting his place back. Agarwal was the top run-getter in the last Ranji Trophy season. He smashed 990 runs at an average of 82.5 with three centuries and 6 half-centuries and the best score of 249 runs. He batted even in the middle order for India and has scored 1488 runs in 21 Test matches for his country. An average of 41.88 with two double-centuries certanly looks better but unfortunately, Agarwal might need yet another stunning Ranji season to make a comeback.
3. Abhimanyu Easwaran
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal has to be the unluckiest among the lot. The man has been piling on the runs at the top of the order in Ranji cricket and yet again, he is not picked in the squad. In the last Ranji Trophy season, the right-hander had scored 798 runs in 14 innings at an average of 66.50 with three centuries and as many half-centuries. His first-class average of 47.85 in 87 matches is a testament to his temperament in red-ball cricket. But with selection of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill already at the top, it seems that the selectors have already moved on from him.
