With India having already lost the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, there were a few changes expected in the Indian playing XI for the third game and the Indian team management did go on to make as many as 4 changes, but the young batting sensation Ruturaj Gaikwad was still not picked and the Indian fans were furious about it.
Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 4 hundreds in the recently finished Vijay Hazare trophy and before that, he had won the orange cap in the IPL as well. He is already seen as someone who can turn out to be the next big thing for India with the bat in white-ball cricket.
Considering the fact that it was only a dead rubber today and Ruturaj might not get the opportunity next series when the Indian captain Rohit Sharma comes back, the Indian fans couldn’t believe the team management kept the young opener out of the playing XI for today’s game.
Apart from Ruturaj, all the other fringe players, including Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Prasidh Krishna and Deepak Chahar, got their opportunities, but the Indian management decided there would be no change at the top of the order and Ruturaj would stay on the bench.
The only reason why the head coach Rahul Dravid and the captain KL Rahul might not have opted for Ruturaj was that they wanted to give players opportunities in the middle order as much as possible, as that has been an area of major concern for India’s white-ball sides in the recent years. The opening isn’t really India’s biggest problem.
Ruturaj Gaikwad can bat at no. 3 as well
Ruturaj Gaikwad is a player who also has the skillset to bat at no. 3 in the batting order if needed and perhaps, he could have been tried at no. 3 to see what he can offer if the team management didn’t want any change at the opening positions.
India has to play limited over games against West Indies and Sri Lanka in the upcoming home season, but if the Indian captain Rohit Sharma is fit for those games, he will open the batting with Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul will bat at no. 5 and Ruturaj might not get an opportunity again with all those players available.
As the playing XI came out today after the toss, the Indian fans had a go at both the captain and the coach for not giving a youngster his due despite it being an inconsequential game. Here are some of the Twitter reactions at Ruturaj’s exclusion –
Still no Ruturaj Gaikwad!
AdvertisementI'm sure he will get to play against West Indies two weeks later and will score runs #INDvsSA
— Vinesh Prabhu (@vlp1994) January 23, 2022
Ruturaj Gaikwad in the bench in 3 T20 vs New Zealand and 3 ODI vs South Africa.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 23, 2022
Four changes made… But no place for Ruturaj Gaikwad. Well done, BC CI. 🙂🙂
Also… Surya and Iyer playing together. Lol. #SAvIND
— Jaanvi🏏 (@ThatCric8Girl) January 23, 2022
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Look at this level of clownery…Krishna is playing but no place for RutuRaj in the playing XI.
— —– (@RutuEra) January 23, 2022
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Non performers will always be wary of performers, that explains the Ruturaj Gaikwad situation.#CricketTwitter
— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) January 23, 2022
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Why Ruturaj Gaikwad is not playing today ??
If you will not play him then what is the use of keeping him in squad !!
He has performed extremely well in domestic #JusticeForRuturaj— Ritesh Khade (@RiteshKhade10) January 23, 2022
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No game for Ruturaj. He will surely feel hard done.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) January 23, 2022
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Ruturaj was picked in the squad to strengthen his friendship with other players. #SAvInd.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) January 23, 2022
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Ruturaj fans thought if Venky doesn't play, he'll get a chance 😂 Dravid doesn't rate him.. how difficult is it to understand? 😂
— r ★ (@itzzRashmi) January 23, 2022
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Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mohammad Siraj still don't get a chance . Dravid and KL Rahul have blood on their hands.
— ` (@FourOverthrows) January 23, 2022
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