Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has advised Rahul Tewatia to stay off social media and focus on his game if he wants to make an impression and get in the Indian team. Tewatia had an excellent outing in the IPL 2022 for the Gujarat Titans.
Rahul Tewatia has been knocking on the doors of the selectors in the recent past and he showcased his improved finishing skills in IPL 2022, playing a key role in Gujarat Titans' winning run. He scored 217 runs at an average of over 30 and a staggering strike rate of close to 150.
Despite this, he was not included in the Indian squad for home South Africa T20Is. After he was also snubbed from the Squad for the Ireland T20Is, Tewatia put out a cryptic tweet, saying "expectation hurts".
While Hardik Pandya leads the 17-member squad, the likes of Sanju Samson returned to the side which is full of white-ball specialists.
"India have so many talented players. The selectors, Rahul and Rohit, now have an idea of what the majority of the squad is going to look like and who are the players that are vying for the other squad positions. So it's very difficult to sit here and say. We know he has done so well but there is so much competition out there," Smith told Star Sports.
"I would tell him 'stay off Twitter, focus on your game, perform. Make sure the next time the squad comes out, no one can leave you out because you have just dashed that door down'," he added.
Continuing the same conversation, India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said India could have accommodated Rahul Tewatia and urged him to work harder and make sure he becomes an inevitable part of the Indian T20I side in the future.
"Rahul Tewatia, the ice man. He should have been... sometimes you feel that if it's such a touch-and-go situation, maybe take an additional member instead of 15. Take 16 because it's hard to leave out somebody who has done consistently well. And he was superb. He won matches that looked lost. He went in there, smashed the ball around, very intelligently, and very cleverly used the crease, he was also playing around the off-side, not just on the on-side," Gavaskar said.
"Somebody showing that kind of temperament maybe add a 16th man and take him to Ireland. It's about just recognizing what he has done. Also, I think, to him I would say 'look, you haven't got picked. Don't let that put you down, just realize that you are on the fringe. Work a little bit harder and you will be there regularly'," Gavaskar added.
The Ireland-bound players, who were part of the South Africa T20I series squad, have been given a 3-day break before they head to the UK for the T20I series.
(Star Sports inputs)
