India really doesn’t have any dearth of talent when players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Rajat Patidar aren’t in the current scheme of things across any formats for international cricket. All three are insane talents in their own rights and need to breakthrough with their performances to make a comeback for India. While Patidar is still managing to hammer down runs, both Gaikwad and Kishan have struggled to.
In the Irani Cup, both Gaikwad and Kishan were touted to make runs, if not dominate but nothing really transpired. Representing the Rest of India, both the IPL stars got out early. Across both the innings, they left a lot to be desired, failing to the pressure of performing in the final.
Gaikwad now way behind pecking order
India currently doesn’t have a settled number three slot in Test cricket. While Sai Sudharsan has been trusted so far, he is yet to make a mark, averaging just 21 thus far. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar has already opined that an in-form Dhruv Jurel could be the choice as well even when Rishabh Pant returns as keeper. Also, Devdutt Padikkal, who starred with a big hundred for India A against Australia A, is part of the current Test team and can get a gametime soon.
Then there are Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair who were dropped after the England tour. While Nair got his chances, Easwaran has never been drafted into the first team despite years of waiting. Given all this, Gaikwad has a little to no chance as of now to persuade selectors. His Irani Cup struggles has now made things even tougher for him.
In the first innings, Gaikwad, who came in at No.5 and is also the vice-captain of ROI, managed just 9 runs off 13 balls. Now, in the second innings when ROI were put up a huge chase on Day 5, Gaikwad failed to soak in the pressure and was out for 7 off 19. Not to mention, Rajat Patidar has been scoring huge runs in domestic cricket recently, diminishing Gaikwad’s hopes for a comeback in international cricket.
Ishan Kishan spoils his chance
Just like Gaikwad, Kishan left a lot to be desired too. After an inconsistent IPL for his new franchise, the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Kishan missed majority of action. He was supposed to fly to England as a backup keeper when Pant got injured. However, he fell from a scooty and was ruled out of action. Kishan spent a few weeks at the NCA and was consequently ruled out of the Duleep Trophy as well.
In place of Kishan, India brought in N Jagadeesan as a backup keeper for the fifth Test in England. What was fascinating to see that India rewarded Jagadeesan for his tremendous domestic performances. However, the chances that Kishan missed and Jagadeesan’s superb form has taken the southpaw behind in the pecking order.
Currently, Pant and Jurel are undroppable from the first team. Then there is Jagadeesan, who hasn’t got a chance yet but is deserving for one. Kishan falls behind all of them and his poor Irani Cup match came at an unwanted time. When Kishan (unsurprisingly) missed out on India’s squad for the West Indies series, Ajit Agarkar mentioned that the Jharkhand batter would need to perform in domestic circuit to make a shout for a place.
In the Irani Cup, Kishan made 1 and 35, with a joint batting strike rate of 45.57. He was sent back by Harsh Dubey.
