Ruturaj Gaikwad, one of India’s most promising young batters, continues to face a puzzling lack of opportunities in the national team. Despite consistently scoring runs in domestic cricket, Gaikwad has been overlooked for selection in all three formats.
His absence from the recent Bangladesh T20I series raised eyebrows, with suggestions that the selectors were prioritizing his red-ball prospects. However, Gaikwad’s name was also missing from the squad announced for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
This snub has sparked outrage from former Indian cricketer Krisnamachari Srikkanth, who criticized the selection committee for its treatment of Gaikwad. Srikkanth questioned the logic behind overlooking a player who has been one of the top performers in domestic cricket.
“I don’t understand it at all,” Srikkanth said. “He scored two first-class centuries, but still didn’t get a chance. He got scores to back him up. Where should that guy be going now?”
Srikkanth also pointed out that Abhimanyu Easwaran, another domestic stalwart, had been selected for the Australia tour despite not having the same level of recent form as Gaikwad.
“Abhimanyu Easwaran’s performance has been brilliant. I’m not questioning that,” Srikkanth said. “But what are you doing with Ruturaj? Why aren’t they twirling around with him? What’s the plan?”
The selection committee has instead named Gaikwad as the captain of the India A squad for the upcoming tour of Australia. It remains to be seen whether a strong performance in the India A side will earn Gaikwad a recall to the senior team.
