Despite a scintillating century in his last ODI, Ruturaj Gaikwad finds himself out of the ODI squad for the IND vs NZ series. Gaikwad was not named in the 15-man squad for the 3-match series, with vice-captain Shreyas Iyer returning to the squad. The CSK captain had scored a fine 106 in Ranchi, batting in a partnership with Virat Kohli.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan sympathised with Gaikwad's situation. With Shreyas Iyer returning, Gaikwad had no spot in the squad and will have to head back to piling on runs in domestic cricket.
"Ruturaj Gaekwad not getting a place in the squad even after scoring a 100 is mind-boggling. It also shows that competition in Indian cricket is on a completely different level. Devdutt Padikkal averages 83 in List A cricket, yet he is nowhere near the ODI squad," Pathan wrote in a post on X.
Pathan's teammate and legendary India all-rounder Ravi Ashwin also reacted to the Gaikwad snub. Ashwin has played with the Maharashtra captain in the IPL and advised him to not give up.
"No matter how you feel. Get up, dress up, pad up, show up and never give up. It can be hard to miss but such is the competition for places in the Indian team," he wrote.
Opportunities in ODIs have been far and few for Gaikwad. He has the highest List A average for a player with more than 50 games in the format. Before his ton in Ranchi, the Maharashtra ace already had 17 tons in 50-over cricket. Originally picked as a backup opener, Gaikwad was thrown into the deep end at No.4 and delivered in style.
India squad vs New Zealand: Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.
