IND vs WI: "You Have To Feel For Him" - Aakash Chopra On Selector Ignore Ruturaj Gaikwad For T20I Series Against West Indies

Published - 06 Jul 2023, 02:29 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM

Ruturaj Gaikwad (Image Credits: Twitter)

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that the young batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was unfortunate to be left out of India’s T20 squad despite his impressive performances. Aakash Chopra pointed out that there is stiff competition among the top-order batters in the team.

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 590 runs for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The right-handed batter was the leading run-getter in the tournament. He had an impressive average of 42.14 and a strike rate of 147.50 in the IPL 2023.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 series against the West Indies. Ruturaj didn’t find a place in the squad’s short format. However, he had been included in the Test and ODI squads against the same opponent.

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Everyone Cannot Come – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that selectors have picked three openers for the squad.

“When the selection happens, the discussion is on who is missing rather than who all are there. You have picked three openers – Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. A noticeable absentee is Ruturaj Gaikwad. You have to feel for him. You expected him to be there but everyone cannot come,” Chopra said.

Ishan Kishan Hasn’t Done Too Well – Aakash Chopra

The cricketer turned commentator stated that the selection of Ishan Kishan over Ruturaj Gaikwad can be debated. Chopra said that the selectors might have preferred to stick with Kishan, who has been part of the team for the past year.

“There can be a discussion that what are you doing as Ishan Kishan hasn’t done too well recently in T20Is and the IPL also wasn’t that good, it was okay-okay and Ruturaj had a very good one.”

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“However, not only in the last 12 months but Ishan Kishan played in the Dubai T20 World Cup as well, I remember he came to open in place of Rohit Sharma in one match. So they probably want to keep the continuity in mind.”

Ishan Kishan represented India in 27 matches in the shorter format of the game. The left-handed batter scored 653 runs with an average of 25.11 and a dismal strike rate of 122.74. The Southpaw smashed 454 runs in the IPL 2023, with an average of 30.27 and a strike rate of 142.77.

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