Ruturaj Gaikwad's selection in India's squad for BGT 2024-25 confirmed

Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to travel down under for the five-match Test series between India and Australia later this year. Gaikwad is likely to be selected as the team's backup opener behind Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Gaikwad has been playing domestic cricket for years now. He has also represented India A and has played a no. of significant innings in domestic cricket. He has been around the Indian squad for a long time now but has found it tough to break into the Playing XI.

However, he now has a chance to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It will be a long series of five Test matches and Gaikwad can get a chance to play in case one of the openers gets injured.

Watch: Gautam Gambhir, and Virat Kohli hug each other to celebrate a stunning Test win over Bangladesh

Ruturaj Gaikwad seen as back-up opener for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

According to a report from TOI, the team management, including the likes of Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, is considering Ruturaj Gaikwad as the team's backup opener after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma for the Test series against Australia.

RUTURAJ GAIKWAD IN BGT AS A BACKUP OPENER...!!!

- Gaikwad might travel to Australia as Rohit and Jaiswal's backup in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. (Gaurav Gupta/TOI). pic.twitter.com/KEawfU8RBI

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 1, 2024

There have been a lot of questions asked about Ruturaj Gaikwad's exclusion from India's squad for Bangladesh T20Is. The report also revealed the reason why he was omitted from India's T20I squad against Bangladesh and was instead selected for the Irani Cup match between the Rest of India and Mumbai.

Why was Ruturaj Gaikwad excluded from Bangladesh T20Is?

A source revealed that there are not many options for the opening spot and Gaikwad needs to keep playing red-ball matches consistently in order to be ready for the Test series in Australia.

"There has been a lot of hue and cry after Gaikwad wasn't picked for the T20Is against Bangladesh despite regular T20I openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill being rested. The selectors and team management want him as the third opener in Australia," a source was quoted as saying by TOI.

You need a third opener there as injuries could take place during a long five-Test series. There aren't too many good candidates for the third openers' slot than Gaikwad. He needs to keep playing red-ball matches. This is why he has been asked to lead ROI in the Irani Cup," the source added.

It is a big moment for Ruturaj Gaikwad and he could potentially make his Test debut soon. While he is likely to travel to Australia, the selectors will be aiming to give him a Test debut during the upcoming series against New Zealand.

Gaikwad is currently leading the Rest of India in the Irani Cup clash against Mumbai. He will be looking to score some runs in the upcoming red-ball games to further strengthen his case for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 27-year-old has already played T20Is and ODIs for India but is yet to make his Test debut.