Ruturaj Gaikwad was a notable absentee when the BCCI senior national selectors on Saturday (September 6) announced the 15-member India A red-ball squad for the upcoming two four-day matches against Australia A.
While social media was abuzz with discussions over his omission after his ton in the ongoing Duleep Trophy fixture for West Zone, former India opener Aakash Chopra dismissed any bias over Gaikwad’s snub from the red-ball set-up.
The Maharashtra batter had led India A last year during the two-match tour to Australia but failed to make a mark, scoring only 20 runs in four innings. He travelled with the India A squad to England in late May, but returned with no game time before being sidelined ahead of the home Test season.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 184 recently in the Duleep Trophy. However, he didn’t score runs in the India A shadow tour during the BGT time, where he was the captain. He was part of the India A squad for the England tour, but didn’t play. So he has been there and thereabouts,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“The thing that is going against Ruturaj is that what he has done is fine, but the others are coming after performing strongly. People are coming after setting domestic cricket on fire. You might say that if Shreyas Iyer is being kept, Ruturaj can also be kept. It’s an eye test. It’s about what you are seeing, and not necessarily about what the numbers are telling. It’s not favoritism or bias,” he added.
Gaikwd has not been in the best of form in the red-ball circuit since last season, while swapping between the opening and No. 4 position in the batting order.
“He had an average of 38 in the 2024 Duleep Trophy. He didn’t score a lot of runs in the Irani Trophy. He didn’t score too many runs against Australia A, and he has played only four matches in the last two Ranji seasons. He has not played a lot of cricket,” Chopra remarked.
He also cited the example of RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, who has endured a similar run of fortune after having made his Test debut last year against England.
“In the same breath, Rajat Patidar, who also scored runs in the Duleep Trophy. He was elevated at one point, got a chance to play for the country. He was given opportunities in the series against England. There was hope that he would score runs as the conditions and pitches were good, but he didn’t score there,” Chopra stated.
“For the short term, that ship has also sailed, the bus has left the bus stop for both of them. It seems like the Indian selectors have started going in a slightly different direction,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
