It was quite eyebrow-raising that Ruturaj Gaikwad wasn’t selected for the India ‘A’ team for the ongoing tri-nation 50-over series against Sri Lanka ‘A’ and Afghanistan ‘A’. Fans thought that the BCCI’s senior men’s selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, might be considering him for the one-day internationals against Afghanistan that start on June 13. But even there, Gaikwad’s name was missing.
But, courtesy of Riyan Parag’s injury, Gaikwad got a lucky break in the India ‘A’ side, and how emphatically he has responded! The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain didn’t have a great IPL 2026. However, when it comes to 50-over cricket, there are hardly many batters as consistent as him. With not many middle-order bats in the side, Gaikwad instantly got a chance in the series opener.
Rampant Ruturaj saves India A
And on a slow track in Dambulla, Gaikwad has hit another sensational hundred. It wasn’t an easy knock at all. The hype was created around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi obviously after the season he had at IPL 2026. But it wasn’t to be for the 15-year-old, as he got out early. In the next over (5th), Prabhsimran Singh walked back to the pavilion too, leading Gaikwad to enter the crease at 16/2.
He obviously started a bit slowly but continuously looked to hit a boundary every now and then. As soon as he hit his first six, Gaikwad got involved in an unwanted run-out. Priyansh Arya, who failed to communicate well with Gaikwad, lost his wicket as the senior batter made it to the other end first. It was a bizarre moment that you might not want to miss. But then, the incident made Gaikwad even more focused and the responsibility fell on him.
Meanwhile, Tilak Varma, who came in at five, played an extremely slow innings. He was going at a snail’s pace, scoring 18 runs off 52 balls. Despite this, Gaikwad continued to play his game and rotated strike brilliantly to complement Tilak’s struggle on a placid wicket. Soon, the 29-year-old reached triple figures in 111 balls.
Unfortunately he couldn’t get big, as Gaiwkad was holed out on the boundary in an attempt to slog one six off Wanuja Sahan.
With this, he has joined the likes of Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir in the list for most List-A centuries among Indians. On Tuesday, he hit his 21st List-A hundred, a number that Dravid hit during his illustrious career.
Fascinatingly, it was Gaikwad’s 100th List-A game. Meanwhile, the likes of Dravid and Gambhir played 416 and 292 innings, respectively, to get to the 21 FC centuries tally. It must be noted that Gaikwad has just one ODI century included in 21 FC tons, while the other players on the list dominated ODI cricket.
Most List-A hundreds (Indians) ft. Gaikwad
| Rank | Player | List-A Hundreds | List-A innings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | 60 | 538 |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | 59 | 334 |
| 3 | Rohit Sharma | 37 | 343 |
| 4 | Sourav Ganguly | 31 | 421 |
| 5 | Shikhar Dhawan | 30 | 298 |
| 6 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | 21 | 96 |
| 7 | Gautam Gambhir | 21 | 292 |
| 8 | Rahul Dravid | 21 | 416 |
Agarkar watched from stands
Ajit Agarkar was interestingly present in the stands in Dambulla when Gaikwad smashed his 21st List A century. After naming multiple T20I squads for upcoming series and tours, Agarkar is now doing behind-the-scenes work, scouting players in the tri-series.
He must’ve noted that Gaikwad has made a compelling case for himself. In the last ODI he played for India, Gaikwad plundered a century. It was a high-quality innings that came at number four when Shreyas Iyer was injured. However, when Iyer, India’s ODI vice-captain, got fit and available, Gaikwad was unfortunately dropped from the ODI side. That’s the issue that he has been facing. With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli still dominating, and Iyer being the best he has ever been in white-ball cricket, there’s no room for Gaikwad in the current ODI team. Number five belongs to keeper KL Rahul. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal is fighting for an opener’s spot too.
Nonetheless, the best thing that the CSK star can do is to continue piling runs and a bucketload of them, in the format.
Gaikwad’s last 13 List-A innings
| No. | Opposition | Date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sri Lanka A (IND A) | Jun 9 | 101 (114) |
| 2 | Goa (VHT) | Jan 8 | 134 (131) |
| 3 | Chandigarh (VHT) | Jan 6 | 22 (15) |
| 4 | Mumbai (VHT) | Jan 3 | 66 (52) |
| 5 | Uttarakhand (VHT) | Dec 31 | 124 (113) |
| 6 | Himachal Pradesh (VHT) | Dec 29 | 28 (32) |
| 7 | Sikkim (VHT) | Dec 26 | 38 (13) |
| 8 | Punjab (VHT) | Dec 24 | 1 (3) |
| 9 | South Africa (ODI) | Dec 3 | 105 (83) |
| 10 | South Africa (ODI) | Nov 30 | 8 (14) |
| 11 | South Africa A (IND A) | Nov 19 | 25 (30) |
| 12 | South Africa A (IND A) | Nov 16 | 68 (84) |
| 13 | South Africa A (IND A) | Nov 13 | 117 (129) |
Cricket
Ruturaj Gaikwad puts pressure on Ajit Agarkar after joining Rahul Dravid in most List-A centuries tally
