Sometimes all you need is a slice of luck. Ruturaj Gaikwad was waiting for fortune to turn in his favour. It finally did. In November, he returned to India’s ODI team after nearly two years. Boding an average of 57 in List A, Gaikwad couldn’t break into the team with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer occupying the spots.
That luck arrives in the form of injuries. Shubman and Shreyas, captain and vice-captain, were ruled out of the South Africa series. One had a neck injury, and the other had suffered lacerations in his spleen. But Gaikwad couldn’t care less. After all, it was an opportunity.
The 28-year-old, who can bat anywhere from one to four, was handed Shreyas’ spot, while Yashasvi Jaiswal got Shubman’s. The latter scored 18 and the former 8. Mind you, both were fighting for the same backup spot. When both Shubman and Shreyas were to return, at least one of them had to be cut loose.
Ruturaj Gaikwad loses backup spot battle to Yashasvi Jaiswal
Gaikwad took the upper hand, with a 105-run knock in the second game. Jaiswal got just 22. Gaikwad provided the flexibility that KL Rahul once provided India. But Jaiswal had that ceiling. But, so far, the southpaw from Mumbai was lagging. He changed that in the last match with an unbeaten hundred.
One month later, Gaikwad was dropped from India’s ODI squad. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the return of Shreyas, Shubman and Mohammed Siraj. Gaikwad, one of the casualties, and Dhruv Jurel and Tilak Varma were the others.
Gaikwad will have to wait some more. Perhaps for Kohli or Rohit to return. Of course, it won’t be easy to return even then. Jaiswal might take over Rohit’s role, while Devdutt Padikkal has been knocking on the ODI door for quite a while. But that’s how ruthless cricket can be in India; even a hundred doesn’t guarantee your place in the team.
India’s ODI squad for New Zealand series
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc)*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Note: *Shreyas Iyer’s availability is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI COE
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