With Australia sealing the 5-match ODI series by winning the first 3 games, the last 2 ODIs have all but lost their significance. The focus now shifts towards the 3-T20I series which is due to get underway with the 1st T20I on 26 January.
While the Indian squad had been named prior to the start of their trip Down Under, Australia announced their T20I squad post the 3rd ODI at Melbourne. Both teams have made some surprise inclusions as well as a few notable exclusions in their respective squads.
Here Are The 11 best players consisting of the T20I rejects from both teams:
#1 Irfan Pathan
Pathan's opportunity of making a comeback arrived when Mohammad Shami was forced to leave the tour due to injury. However, as luck would have it, the selectors were more keen to give young Jasprit Bumrah a chance instead of the Baroda left-arm medium pacer who has quite a bit of experience of playing in Australia.
#2 George Bailey
Unfortunately for him though, Bailey has not been included in the squad for the 3-match T20I series which will follow the ODIs. His exclusion is all the more surprising because he has also been performing brilliantly in the Big Bash League with 240 runs at an average of 60 and a tremendous strike rate of 150.
#3 Axar Patel
Moreover, he has been quite a steady bowler in the IPL for quite some time now. In the ODIs too, Axar has not got his chance thus far as senior pro Ravindra Jadeja is being preferred over him by skipper Dhoni. It will be interesting to see whether Patel gets a game considering India have already lost the series.
#4 Mitchell Marsh
The younger Marsh is a proven customer when it comes to T20 cricket and has done well at the Big Bash League in the past. Despite this, Mitchell Marsh has played just 4 T20Is since making his debut in 2011 and has missed the bus this time around as well.
#5 Ishant Sharma
Perhaps one reason could be the fact that the team management do not want to overburden their seniormost bowler with the pressures of all 3 formats. However, Ishant Sharma’s experience of Aussie conditions could have been valuable for the other young bowlers to learn from.
#6 Usman Khawaja
The Pakistan-born southpaw has carried his fantastic form in Tests to the Big Bash League as well scoring 171 runs in 2 games including an unbeaten century. However, it seems that Usman Khawaja may have a lot more left to do in order to impress the Australian selectors.
#7 Manish Pandey
This exclusion is all the more strange considering the fact that Manish Pandey came into prominence because of his exploits in the IPL and is a seasoned performer in the T20 format. In the ODI series, Pandey has had just one chance to bat in 2 matches, that too at the fag end of the innings.
#8 Josh Hazlewood
The series against India could have been a good opportunity for Hazlewood to prove himself in the shortest format of the game. However, the Aussie selectors decided to pull him out for the remainder of the tour so that he can refresh himself prior to a gruelling season ahead.
#9 Amit Mishra
His form in Indian domestic cricket has been quite phenomenal of late as he did well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and also the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Being a leggie, Amit Mishra could have been quite a handful on Australian pitches but the selectors thought otherwise.
#10 Joe Burns
Although he could not make the most of his selection for the post-Ashes ODI series, he could have been provided a chance in the ODI and T20I teams for the India series based on his Test form. However, Joe Burns would presently have to contend with playing in the Big Bash League.
#11 Cheteshwar Pujara
In 6 matches, Pujara scored 232 runs at an average of 46.40 and a strike rate of slightly under 118. The squad for the Australia tour had already been announced before the Saurashtra batsman showed his T20 skills, but a spot in the World Twenty20 squad may still be possible.
Source:sportskeeda
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