These in-form RCB stars missed out on India's T20I squads
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its T20I squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games 2026. Shreyas Iyer will lead the team, with Tilak Varma as his deputy. However, some big names have been left out of the squad. On this note, we look at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru stars who were unfortunate to miss out on selection. Notably, RCB won the IPL 2026 title last week.
#1
Patidar's stellar IPL season not enough for T20I call-up
Team skipper Rajat Patidar, who captained RCB to back-to-back IPL titles, had another stellar season with the bat. He scored more runs than Iyer at number four and was one of the best middle-order batters in IPL 2026. Coming to his stats, Patidar struck at 192.69 in the season, scoring 501 runs from 14 innings at 41.75 (50s: 5). In the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against GT, Patidar played one of his greatest knocks. The Dharamsala crowd saw him smash several records with his 33-ball 93*.
#2
Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar left out
Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was another major omission from the T20I squad. Although he hasn't played T20Is since November 2022, his performance in IPL 2026 was exceptional. The 36-year-old Bhuvneshwar was arguably RCB's MVP, having bowled one sensational spell after another. Bhuvneshwar claimed a total of 28 wickets from 16 games in the season—the second-most for any bowler. His economy rate of 7.95 was the second-best for any pacer in the season.
#3
Krunal Pandya also omitted from T20I squad
Krunal Pandya, who outperformed Axar Patel in IPL 2026, has also been left out of India's T20I squad. Stunning batters with his uncanny bouncers, the left-arm spinner took 14 wickets from 16 games with an economy rate of 8.41. The all-rounder also smashed 226 runs at an average of 37.66 and a strike rate of 145.80.