3 Gabba Heroes who are missing from the Indian team

The Gabba or Gabbatoir as it is called by the Australian cricketing world is one of the most iconic venues situated in Brisbane. This is by far one of the venues that is dominated by the Australians and they had a winning streak at this venue which spread through 32 years. This was the ground where people thought it was almost impossible to beat the hosts at this venue. After all, this was the fortress that made the visitors struggle every time. However, the year was 2021 and history was created at this venue by none other than the resilient Indian cricket team who once again stepped up to the plate.

The series had started at Adelaide which was one of the most disastrous endings to a Test match the Indians could have got 36 all out in the second innings of the match and eventually gave the Aussies the lead. The visitors did come back eventually with a win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG) and a draw at Sydney. However going into the last match the Indians had lost half of their first-choice players due to injury and people said that it won’t be possible to beat the mighty Australians at the fortress with 6 new faces in the XI, but they proved everyone wrong and not only won the series but broke the 3-decade streak at the fortress.

There were a lot of young heroes who were involved in this impressive feat, with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj becoming huge stars going forward and being a major part of the team, but there are still some players who have not had the same success. These players were set to become one of the big stars in the future but could not rise to the expectations. It will forever be a mystery as to why these players are not in selectors' minds right now and why they are being left out. 

Let's take a look at the 3 heroes who have gone missing after this feat:

3. T Natarajan

T Natarajan was a prodigy who had shown his class in the Indian Premier League(IPL), when he played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019. This made the board bring him in as a net bowler in the Indian side for the Australia tour. He got his opportunity in the Gabba Test and impressed everyone in his Test debut by taking 3 wickets in the first innings in the first Test. Natarajan was all set to be a star for the Indian team for his variations and great yorkers at the death and be another upcoming specialist bowler for India in the future. Sadly injuries and setbacks have affected his career in the national team.

2. Navdeep Saini

Some very rare bowlers could bowl in the 150’s and Navdeep Saini was one of those prodigies, who was set to be a star with his ability to hit a hard length and bowl express pace. His performance in the Australia series was also great as he managed to look threatening in both the matches he played. Saini has never been in the reckoning any more due to an unfortunate back injury and poor returns that forced the selectors to not include him in the national squad any more.

1. Ajinkya Rahane

 The man who took the reins and made it all happen is Ajinkya Rahane. He was the stand-in captain after the absence of Virat Kohli in the next three Tests. He was also one of the top scorers for the Indian side setting the tone with a brilliant century at the MCG and valuable knocks in the last two games including the Gabba Test. However, he has not been in the reckoning even after being one of the top Indian players for a long time. Even his great performance in the WTC was not enough to keep him in the Test squad and he was sidelined completely for the young and upcoming talent.