The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Sunday named squads for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa and 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 were expecting the batter to be named in T20I squad but this was not to be the case.
As soon as the squad was announced on Sunday, fans immediately took to Twitter to express their displeasure over Tripathi not being given a chance in the squad.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was also disappointed with Tripathi's exclusion, saying the 31-year-old "deserved a chance".
Here are some more reactions:
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 as well.
The senior pros -- 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 has also made his way back into the squad on the back of some strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season. Hardik Pandya, who is 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 have been named in the squad as well. 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.