When it comes to the younger names in the squad, those players already have considerable exposure to the top-level cricket as they were part of the Indian squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland and then for the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
According to a PTI report, the mandarins pegged the selection of players mainly on them having two good successive IPL seasons and the members in the squad have that against their names.
However, some of the performers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy such as batters Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could not find a berth in the squad.
Bhuvneshwar has picked up 16 wickets from seven matches in the SMAT at an impressive economy of 5.84 but the selectors felt that his pace has dropped considerably, barely averaging 130 kmph.
Parag and Sharma were in contention after their excellent run in the SMAT. Parag, who plays for Assam, was the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 510 runs from 10 matches, including seven fifties with a strike rate of 182.
Punjab left-hander Sharma, who is also a useful left-arm spinner, was the second highest run-getter in the SMAT with 485 runs from 10 matches, including two hundreds and three fifties with a strike-rate of 192.
But the powers that be felt that while these two players held out promise, they needed to show more consistency in the IPL to merit a place in the national side.
Sanju Samson might have been hoping to find a place in the squad but the Kerala batsmen was a notable absentee. Perhaps, his lukewarm effort in the SMAT forced the selectors to overlook him for the time being.
Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also been overlooked by the selectors.
(With PTI inputs)
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