Ruturaj Gaikwad to become India’s No.4 in ODIs after Virat Kohli's green signal
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Ruturaj Gaikwad is most likely to replace Indian vice-captain Shreyas Iyer in the Indian ODI side as their no. 4 batter, after the former's injury ruled him out of action for months. Gaikwad was seen batting with Virat Kohli during the net sessions.
The Indian team had to undergo a revamp after captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer were ruled out of the series with injury concerns. Shreyas has been ruled out for a long time, while Shubman Gill is expected to take the field by the start of the T20I series against South Africa or the series against New Zealand.
KL Rahul was named the skipper of the Indian national team, and the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Mohammed Siraj were rested by the Indian management. Hardik Panyda, who is also out of action with an injury, is likely to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and return for the T20I series against the same opposition, scheduled to take place from December 9.
Ruturaj Gaikwad's ODI batting position finalized ahead of the first ODI at Ranchi
After Shreyas Iyer was snubbed from the Indian team following the laceration injury during the final match of the ODI series against Australia, he has been ruled out of action for nearly 4 months.
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has relished batting in the past year and comes out of some good form in the Duleep Trophy and the Ranji Trophy for the Maharashtra team, and won a stunning player of the series in the unofficial ODI series against South Africa A, and hence, is high on confidence to feature for India.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was recently spotted in the nets alongside Indian legend Virat Kohli, and the two were seen batting together. As per RevSportz, Gautam Gambhir has the knack of pairing batting partners in the nets as per their positions.
Moreover, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being the most likely opening batter replacing Gill, India will now have a left-handed batsman in the top order; hence, Ruturaj Gaikwad might surpass Pant at No. 4 for India.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was spotted in intense discussions with the Indian team management
Alongside the net sessions, Ruturaj Gaikwad was also seen engaging in some conversations alongside Virat Kohli. The veteran looked very involved and shared insights on the gameplay, as well as gave him some batting tips.
The report further informed that after finishing a long batting session where he looked very confident, as he played the pacers and tackled the spinners with ease, he walked off to the batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak and had a long chat.
This was followed by another chat with Gautam Gambhir, who was seen giving some tips to improve his drive, as it could be understood through his hand gestures. He was also seen around with skipper KL Rahul and looked like one of the busiest among Indian cricketers in the nets.
Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were seen batting together in the nets
On the sides of the Gaikwad-Kohli nets, another Indian batting pair took guard. Rohit Sharma, the veteran opener, batted alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Though the left-handed youngster recently had a disappointing series against South Africa in red-ball cricket, he can alter his fortunes in white-ball cricket.
Other doubts would be Rishabh Pant or Tilak Varma, who is likely to replace left-handed Axar Patel in the Indian team. Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar would also be another major doubt, as with Ravindra Jadeja's presence, India will now have batting up to no. 8 but will lack an additional bowler in the form of Axar Patel.
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Tagged:
India National Cricket Team South Africa National Cricket Team India vs South Africa Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Yashasvi Jaiswal Ruturaj Gaikwad KL Rahul Gautam Gambhir Sitanshu Kotak Shreyas Iyer
