Sometimes, some selections in the Indian team don’t really make sense. This T20I team for the IND vs ENG series has a few surprising calls. Abhishek Sharma didn’t really deserve a chance.. but his inclusion isn’t the most problematic. One wonders, why Dhruv Jurel was picked as the reserve wicket-keeper batter for the series, when he isn’t really known for his game in the shortest format.
Why Dhruv Jurel?
In T20Is for India, in two matches he has 6 runs. And in T20 career, in 40 matches, he has 445 runs at an average of 21 at a strike-rate of 133. In IPL, he has fared slightly better, but still, not really a force to reckon with in the format. In 28 encounters, he has 347 runs at an average of 23, and a strike-rate of 151.
And it is this call, that makes fans wonder, why not Jitesh Sharma, who was part of the IND vs SA T20I series? Not that he has been exceptional in his performances, but without being given a longer rope, why has he not been considered? In 9 matches, Jitesh has scored only 100 runs, at an average of 14, but overall in 126 matches, he has 2625 runs at an average of 26.51 and a strike-rate of over 150.
What Happened to Jitesh Sharma?
Yes, he wouldn’t have played over Sanju Samson for sure, but then without even playing, on what grounds has he been axed, the selectors need to answer. The 31-year-old last played for India vs Afghanistan in Jan 2024. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he had scored 135 runs in 6 matches, at an average of 33.
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In fact, Jitesh isn’t the only one, who is unlucky to miss out. The others are Abhishek Porel and Prabhsimran Singh. In 9 SMAT matches the Bengal keeper scored 335 runs at an average of 41. The latter scored 207 at 34. Then in Vijay Hazare, Porel has 317 runs at an average of 52, and the Punjab lad has 498 at 83.
India Squad for T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).
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