New Delhi: Star India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh feels Ruturaj Gaikwad deserves to be a part of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against New Zealand.
Ramesh suggested that Gaikwad should have been picked in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy and questioned the inclusion of a fifth seam-bowling option.
Despite scoring a century at No. 4 in the recent ODI series against South Africa, Gaikwad was left out of the New Zealand squad. Ramesh added that Reddy’s role in the team is still unclear, making Gaikwad’s inclusion more justified.
“He could’ve been selected in the squad in place of someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy. Why is a fifth seam-bowling option required? Whether or not Reddy will bat or bowl is unclear. When it’s not even clear whether he will feature in the eleven, someone like Gaikwad should’ve been there in the squad.”
Ramesh said Ruturaj should be a ‘Must’ in India’s ODI squad
Ramesh noted that Gaikwad could still join the squad if Shreyas Iyer fails to recover from his injury, but he also said that regardless of circumstances, the young batter was a “must” for the team.
“India doesn’t need a fifth seam-bowling option in the original squad for a home series. Even if there is an injury in the squad, someone can be called up soon as it is a home series. What they may have thought is if Shreyas Iyer doesn’t clear the fitness test, Ruturaj Gaikwad can slot into the playing eleven. Even if Iyer is fit and plays all three matches, I feel Gaikwad was a must in the squad,” he added.
India’s squad for the ODI series against New Zealand: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.