Former India cricketer S Badrinath has slammed the exclusion of Ruturaj Gaikwad from the squads for India vs Sri Lanka series, joining several others who have echoed similar thoughts. Despite having a promising run with the bat in the ZIM series, the CSK skipper has been left out of the side that will take on SL in a three-match T20I series. After ex-chief selector K Srikkanth, Badrinath came out in support of Gaikwad and took a subtle and sarcastic dig at the selectors.
Badrinath’s advice for dropped Ruturaj Gaikwad
Badrinath slammed the selectors for not handing opportunities to youngsters like Rinku Singh and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He advised the youngsters to have a couple of girlfriends, manage to stay in the news always and have a good PR manager in order to get picked consistently in the Indian side.
Ruturaj Gaikwad misses out on IND vs SL squad spot
Gaikwad added 133 runs to his name from four games against Zimbabwe, displaying form after a poor first outing. With scores of 7, 77 and 49, the CSK skipper made a statement by letting the team know that he could a be a dependable batter at the number three position.
With Virat Kohli out of the shortest format of the game for good, India are now on the hunt for his replacement and it looks like Ruturaj could have been a potential choice.
T20 World Cup snub returns to haunt Gaikwad
Prior to the Zimbabwe series, Gaikwad had a heartbreaking snub from the T20 World Cup squad to deal with. The CSK skipper had a phenomenal IPL 2024 season with the bat, amassing a mammoth 583 runs. It did come across as a shock when it came to be that Ruturaj couldn’t find a spot in the 15-man squad.
