After the 2019 World Cup, all the focus has shifted to the T20 World Cup which is scheduled to take place in Australia next year. Eight teams have already qualified and two more will be decided from the Qualifiers which will be played next month.

India will be playing a lot of T20 cricket over the next year. They’ve blown hot and cold in the shortest format. Hence, head coach Ravi Shastri has laid emphasis on T20Is and said that only a few players from the ODI team fit into the T20 team. He wants the team to dominate in the shortest format as well and play fearless cricket.

Thus, there are few Indian cricketers who have found themselves on the sidelines in the shortest format. It seems like they are not being considered for the 2020 T20 World Cup.

Here we bring you five players who are not being considered by the selectors for T20 WC 2020:

Ravichandran Ashwin

It’s been over two years since Ravichandran Ashwin played white-ball cricket for India. However, Ashwin continued to be India’s No. 1 Test spinner. He picked up a truckload of wickets at home but blew hot and cold outside Asia. Last month, he was pipped by Ravindra Jadeja as India’s premier spinner away from home.

The Tamil Nadu off-spinner’s decline in white-ball cricket coincided with the rise of India’s wrist-spin duo, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Hence, along with Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin was ousted from the team. While Jadeja returned to the side and did well, the off-spinner couldn’t break into the white-ball side once again.

Ashwin hasn’t done too well in the IPL as well. He has picked up 25 wickets in 28 games in the last two seasons. Hence, he is nowhere close to being in contention for a spot for the 2020 T20 World Cup.

Kuldeep Yadav

Over the last couple of years, Kuldeep Yadav has taken giant strides in international cricket. He has consistently performed in all three formats. In fact, he was India’s premier white-ball spinner up until the World Cup. However, the last few months have changed everything for the chinaman.

Kuldeep has had a torrid time with the ball since the start of this year’s IPL. He struggled big time in the Indian T20 league and was eventually dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders side towards the end of the tournament. His scratchy form continued in the World Cup and was dropped for the semi-final.

Thus, he was left out of the T20I squad that played against the West Indies last month. Kuldeep continued to remain absent from the T20 squad that will face South Africa at home. Moreover, with Rahul Chahar, Washington Sundar and others trying to make a mark, it’s tough for the 24-year-old to make a comeback in the T20 side for the moment. Another thing that goes against Kuldeep is his inability to contribute with the bat lower down the order. Virat Kohli has spoken about the importance of the lower order contributing and having a deep batting line-up.

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav is a late bloomer in international cricket. He made his debut as a 29-year-old but only became a regular white-ball player in 2017. He has been a vital part of India’s ODI plan for the last few years. His ability to play to different situations and handy off-spin made him a crucial member in the 50-over format.

However, he hasn’t been in and around the Indian T20 side. The last time he donned the Indian jersey in the shortest format was in October 2017. Thus, his T20I career which started in July 2015 has halted at a total of nine T20Is at the moment.

Moreover, Jadhav hasn’t been too impressive in the IPL either. He has struggled to force the pace in the shortest format which has been one of his major issues. Hence, he is nowhere close to the T20 squad for the moment.

Axar Patel

It was on the back of T20 cricket that Axar Patel first made a mark. It was the IPL in 2014 where he performed really well for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Hence, he soon got a chance in the Indian side and made his international debut in 2014.

However, the Gujarat left-arm spinner has rarely got an extended run. He has constantly been in and out of the side. Axar always filled in when either of Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja were left out or were injured/rested. Despite doing decently, he was axed from the side.

Even recently, he’s been doing well for India ‘A’ but couldn’t break into the Indian side. The last time he donned the Indian jersey was in a T20I in South Africa in early 2018. Moreover, he is facing stiff competition among the spinners. With the likes of Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar offering similar abilities with the ball and bat, it would be tough for Axar to break into the squad at the moment.

Suresh Raina

It was not too long ago that Suresh Raina was called Mr IPL. The left-handed batsman plundered runs consistently season after season in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He also did well for the national team in the shorter formats and was one of the key men in the middle-order.

However, after a poor run after the 2015 World Cup, Raina was left out of the side. He did make a comeback to the T20 side and remained in and out for a couple of years, but he never really made a huge mark. Despite batting in the top four more often than not, Raina failed to capitalize.

Raina has struggled quite a bit. He averaged just 23.94 this year in the IPL. In fact, he even had a poor time in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy just before the IPL. Thus, with other batsmen like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer coming along nicely, the door seems to be shut on Raina.