Cricket News

Three Indian players who disappeared after T20 World Cup 2022

While reaching the semi-finals might seem like a decent showing, the 2022 T20 World Cup didn’t quite hit the high notes Indian fans anticipated. Pre-tournament promises of “aggressive and exciting” cricket from skipper Rohit Sharma and the team management fell short, leaving a sense of disappointment mixed with relief at reaching the penultimate stage.

The cautious approach adopted throughout the tournament raised eyebrows, and despite scraping through to the semis, England delivered a clinical dismantling in the knockout game, dashing hopes and reigniting questions about India’s T20 identity. As such, changes were expected and there were a few casualties who have not played a T20 International for India ever since that fateful night in Adelaide.

Here’s a look at three such players who were discarded after the tournament:

3. KL Rahul

The semi-final against England remains KL Rahul‘s last appearance for India in the shortest format of the game. Rahul was one of the main culprits behind India’s tentative and conservative showing Down Under. His slow starts put a lot of pressure on the rest of the lineup throughout the tournament. The likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav rescued India in most games which allowed India to at least make it to the semis.

Post the World Cup, Rahul was discarded as the selectors and management have favoured other options like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Now, Rahul is all set to don a middle-order role in T20s, as he has done in the other two formats. It remains to be seen if he manages to add to his 72 T20I caps.