Devdutt Padikkal Shows Real Reason Why RCB Players Are Missing From India Squads

RCB have dominated the IPL over the past two seasons, but their players have continued to find it difficult to break into the Indian team. Devdutt Padikkal got the opportunity to play in the Sri Lanka Test series because Sai Sudharsan was injured. Otherwise, he may not have been in the XI.

However, Padikkal made full use of his opportunity. He has scored two centuries in just three innings since his comeback and has now almost cemented his place at No. 3 in the Test team.

Padikkal could soon make his way into the ODI setup as well. However, his current form is not solely because of his IPL performances. He has also been doing well in domestic cricket, which has helped him earn his place in the India squad in the red-ball format.

Virat Kohli has retired from two formats and is now playing only ODIs. Apart from these two RCB players, no other RCB player features in the India squads. Let’s now look at the possible reasons behind this.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been one of RCB’s best bowlers over the last two seasons and has played an important role for the team. He took 28 wickets in 16 matches in IPL 2026, after picking up 17 wickets in 14 matches in IPL 2025.

Despite his impressive performances, he has not played for India in recent years. His last international appearance came in November 2022. Now 36 years old, his age could be one of the reasons behind his absence. He is also primarily suited to T20 cricket at this stage of his career.

India have been focusing on younger pacers who can serve the team for a longer period. As a result, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has unfortunately missed out on selection for the Indian team.

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Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar has not done much wrong over the last two years. He has helped RCB win the IPL title twice in a row and is the only captain to have led them to back-to-back titles. With the bat, he scored more than 300 runs in 2025 and over 500 runs in 2026.

Still, he has not caught the attention of the selectors. One reason could be the competition for his batting position. After removing Suryakumar Yadav from the captaincy and the squad, India have picked Shreyas Iyer as the skipper, who bats in the same position as Rajat.

This makes it difficult for Rajat to find a place in the team. Iyer has also scored more runs than Rajat over the last two IPL seasons.

Jitesh Sharma

Jitesh Sharma, the wicketkeeper-batter, was part of the Indian squad before the T20 World Cup 2026. However, he was dropped from the team just before the tournament, mainly because he did not perform well enough.

He has also not done enough with the bat for RCB over the last two seasons to catch the selectors’ attention. With Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan already part of the India T20I setup, the team has its wicketkeeping options covered.

Krunal Pandya

The last time Krunal Pandya played for India was in 2021. Since then, he has not played another international match. Although he has been doing well for RCB, just like Rajat Patidar, he is competing for a spot where India already have a better option.

Axar Patel has been a regular all-rounder in the T20I team and has played an important role for India. Even though Krunal has been picking up wickets regularly in the IPL, his batting is not as strong as Axar’s. This is one of the main reasons why Axar is likely to be picked ahead of him.

Also, like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal is getting older and is now 35, so age is not on his side either.

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