The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday evening, announced the white-ball squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs. The T20I leg, with Suryakumar Yadav at the helm, after he pipped Hardik Pandya in the race to become the new captain after Rohit Sharma's retirement from the format last month, will take place between July 27 and 30 in Pallekele, while the ODIs, which will mark the beginning of India's preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy next year, will be played between August 2 and 7 in Colombo.

The two squads witnessed some significant inclusions and captaincy changes, hinting at India's long-term plans in the two formats, with Gautam Gambhir, who did play a part in the selection of the team, set to begin his tenure as the new head coach of the Indian team. However, it also did have some unfortunate omissions and we take a look at some of the players who missed out from either or both the series.

The Ishan Kishan mystery

Until late 2023, the wicketkeeper-batter was a pivotal member of the Indian squad across formats before he took a mental-health break in December. Later, as BCCI, in a fresh mandate, asked Indian players not on international duty to participate in domestic tournaments, Ishan ignored this and remained on break. Later, BCCI did not name him for the annual contracts, and Ishan was not recalled. With the left-hander having missed the Zimbabwe tour and snubbed for the two series in Sri Lanka, he has also fallen behind in the pecking order. The BCCI will "monitor player availability and participation in the upcoming domestic cricket season 2024-25," as mentioned in the media release, leaving the door open for Ishan to come back.

What wrong did Sanju Samson do?

He scored a century the last time India played an ODI match, in December 2023, and managed to notch up a valiant fifty in the final T20I game against Zimbabwe, yet Samson was ignored from the ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, despite being picked for the 20-over format. With Rishabh Pant back to join KL Rahul as the two wicketkeeping options, and India focussing on having more all-rounders in the line-up, Samson missed out on the opportunity and is likely to not be part of the Champions Trophy plans.

No Abhishek Sharma in T20Is and Yashasvi Jaiswal in ODIs

Despite notching up a fiery century in just his second international innings, and recording nine sixes in the series against Zimbabwe, along with a strike rate of 174.6, Abhishek Sharma failed to make the cut for the India T20I squad for the contest in Sri Lanka. With Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal likely to open for India in the series, the management might be looking at Samson as a backup opener, with the wicketkeeper having played in that position for Rajasthan Royals in IPL.

Despite making a sensational start to his career in T20I and Test format, Jaiswal will continue to wait for his maiden opportunity in ODIs. With Pant back, he will resume his role as a middle-order option, and hence Rahul will serve as the back-up opening option for India where Gill and Rohit will be the primary options.

End of the road for Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal

Virat Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja had announced their retirements from T20Is last month after the World Cup win. But while the other two will return to duties in the ODI format for the tour of Sri Lanka, Jadeja was not named. With Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Riyan Parag named as the three spin-bowling all-rounders, Jadeja could already have played the final ODI game of his career.

Chahal, who didn't feature in a single game during India's World Cup campaign, was not named in either of the teams. The 33-year-old is unlikely to be recalled for the T20Is again, with the next World Cup in 2026, and seems to have lost his place in ODIs as well, with India backing fellow wristpsinner Ravi Bishnoi a specialist option with Champions Trophy in mind.

Tough for Ruturaj Gaikwad

The Chennai Super Kings captain has been fairly impressive in the T20I format, scoring 633 runs at a strike rate of 143.53, while also showing versatility in the batting line-up, as seen in the Zimbabwe series. But the India management seemed happy with two primary opening options in Gill and Jaiswal, and with Suryakumar Yadav back along with Pant, there wasn't any need for extra middle-order options.

Other notable names to miss out

Fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan were not considered for both the white-ball series, while Harshit Rana, who missed the cut for the T20I squad, was handed a maiden ODI call-up. The right-armer was part of Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL-winning side of 2024, where he picked 19 wickets in just 13 matches.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav has been rested for the T20Is, with Gambhir backing Bishnoi as the frontline wristspinner. Shardul Thakur too was not named in either of the squads.