Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was disappointed with Tripathi's exclusion, saying the 31-year-old "deserved a chance."
Digital Desk: On Sunday, the All-India Senior
Selection Committee named squads for the upcoming T20I series against South
Africa and a one-off Test against England. Rahul Tripathi, who has been in
splendid form for SunRisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Indian Premier League
(IPL) season, has not been given a chance in the 18-member T20I squad. The
right-handed Tripathi has struck the ball superbly for SRH, and he has scored
393 runs in 13 matches so far at a strike rate of 161.73, including three
half-centuries. Fans expected the batter to be named to the T20I squad, but
this was not the case.
As soon as the squad was announced on Sunday,
fans immediately took to Twitter to express their disappointment over Tripathi
not being given a chance in the squad.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was
disappointed with Tripathi's exclusion, saying the 31-year-old "deserved a
chance."
Over the past few seasons, Tripathi has been
a consistent performer while playing for KKR. Changing the franchise this
season did not play spoilsport as Tripathi piled on the runs this season.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah
have all been rested for the T20Is. KL Rahul will be leading the side, while
pace sensation Umran Malik has earned a maiden call-up. The five-match T20I
series will begin on June 9 in Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Dinesh Karthik made his way back into the
squad on the back of some strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore
this season. Hardik Pandya, leading table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the ongoing
IPL season, has also returned to the squad.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are among
the leading wicket-takers in the ongoing IPL season, and hence the duo has been
named in the squad. Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also in the squad.
Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh who has
given strong performances over the last few IPL seasons, has also earned a
maiden call-up to the national side.
India squad for SA T20Is: KL Rahul (c),
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC)
(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal,
Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel,
Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
Here are some tweets from the Cricket lovers
after elimination of the two productive players from the T20 Squad Vs. South
Africa:
