Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has struggled to translate his form from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings into the international level in the brief T20I career he has had as yet.
Gaikwad has managed to score only 63 runs in the 5 T20I matches he has played so far. In the ongoing India-South Africa T20I series, he was dismissed for 23 in the first match and for 1 in the second match, both of which India lost.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes Gaikwad deserves another shot and has identified a weakness in his technique.
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Talking to Star Sports, Bangar said: "I feel in the batting, Ruturaj Gaikwad should be given one more opportunity although I was slightly surprised with the length of his stride. Was it necessary? I think it might have been a predetermined attempt from him."
"You cannot play an attacking shot if you take such a big stride because all your weight is on the back foot, and that is why he sliced the ball and it went towards point. The Indian team has a lot of expectations from Ruturaj Gaikwad, they see him as a future top-order batter, so his performance will certainly come under the microscope," he said.
Gaikwad had a season full of ups and downs in IPL 2022. For a major part of the first half of the league stage, he struggled to score runs for the yellow-army. However, he was able to reclaim his form and finished the season with 368 runs in 14 games.
(Star Sports inputs)