Ruturaj Gaikwad, a power-hitter has failed to make the cut after BCCI announced India's T20I squad against Bangladesh. Gaikwad was in good form with the Chennai Super Kings in IPL and in good record at T20Is. However, he hasn't been considered for the team. The selectors seem to take that decision on the basis of the Test tour of Australia.
Will Gaikwad Be Picked For The Australia Tour?
"There has been a lot of hue and cry after Gaikwad wasn't picked for the T20Is against Bangladesh despite regular T20I openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill being rested. The selectors and team management want him as the third opener in Australia. You need a third opener there as injuries could take place during a long five-Test series," Times of India quoted a source as saying.
Gaikwad has scored 633 runs in 23 T20I matches for India, with an average of 39.56. He had one century and four fifties to his name but has not gotten a stable spot in the Indian short-form team. The openers are two strong players in the form of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, and there is no stable kind of backup either. While Shubman Gill may be played as an opener, he has been put at No 3 and Virat Kohli at No 4. So, selectors are understood to be looking at including Ruturaj in the squad, as a backup opener for the Australia Tour.
"There aren't too many good candidates for the third openers' slot than Gaikwad. He needs to keep playing red-ball matches. This is why he has been asked to lead ROI in the Irani Cup," the report added.