Former cricketer Saba Karim during an interview said that dropping Ruturaj Gaikwad from the T20 Internationals squad for the upcoming series against West Indies was a bit absurd. Ruturaj was handed his debut in the national team against Sri Lanka after his stellar performances in IPL and SMAT.
India is set to face West Indies in their next home assignment in a three-match One Day International series which will begin from 6th February. Following which, Rohit Sharma‘s team will face the West Indies team in three T20I matches as well. BCCI have announced the squad and youngsters like Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Hooda and Avesh Khan received their maiden India call-up.
However, many fans, as well as former cricketers, were left a bit confused as some youngsters who were included in the limited over series against South Africa were dropped from the side without getting an opportunity. Ruturaj Gaikwad was one such name who could not make it to the T20I squad for the home series against West Indies.
Former cricketer and selector Saba Karim was also left confused with this decision and could not understand the reasoning behind it.
“Ruturaj is not part of the T20 team but has been included in ODIs. He was chosen for international cricket on the basis of his T20 performances. So a couple of changes are really absurd,” Saba Karim said during a podcast.
“Hopefully, we get a settled combination soon because there is not much time left (for the World Cup).”
Ruturaj Gaikwad was selected as a backup opener in the series against South Africa which India lost by 3-0. With Rohit Sharma back in the side, it will be interesting to see if Ruturaj gets a game in the upcoming series.
ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan
T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel
