Reason behind Ruturaj Gaikwad's snub from Bangladesh T20Is revealed; being prepped for Australia tour- Report

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been a heavy scorer whenever he has played for India.

There was a lot of hue and cry after Ruturaj Gaikwad was snubbed from the Indian squad for the ongoing Bangladesh Test and then the T20I series as well. However, reports have suggested that BCCI selector in-chief Ajit Agarkar has Gaikwad in his plans for India’s tour of Australia (BGT 2024) later this year.

The Chennai Super Kings captain has received two Test call-ups in his career, for the West Indies and South Africa tours last year, but has yet to perform.

Not to mention, he was on the standby list for the World Test Championship final last year before being replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal due to his resignation from the squad for personal reasons.

Following an exceptional performance as captain of the India C squad in the recent Duleep Trophy competition, Gaikwad was expected to be called up for the Test and T20I series against Bangladesh, but he was disregarded on both occasions, enraging fans on social media.

As per a Times of India report on Tuesday, Agarkar and his committee, together with the team management, which includes head coach Gautam Gambhir, want Gaikwad to be the third opener in the five-match Test series against Australia later this year.

For this reason, selectors did not want Gaikwad to participate in the T20I format, preferring that he focus on red-ball cricket with the Irani Cup beginning Tuesday in Lucknow, where he will lead the Rest of India against Mumbai.

"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. 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," a reliable source told the Times of India.

This could also imply that Gaikwad will be given a shot in India's next Test series against New Zealand at home later this month, with the team hoping to get a clearer look at the star hitter in the international format against an established bowling attack. This could imply that India will rest Jaiswal in one of the matches against the Black Caps.