Ruturaj Gaikwad is still slightly far from making it to the Test team for India.
Ruturaj Gaikwad endured a few rough months leading up to the Duleep Trophy 2025, as he went through a lean patch of form and had injury issues. While captaining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025, he had a hot and cold performance before an elbow injury ruled him out of the tournament, which ultimately affected his team’s performance.
Later, Gaikwad didn’t feature in any of the two ‘A’ games against England Lions on the England tour in May-June, and he pulled his name from the County Championship, where he signed a deal with Yorkshire. However, he finally returned to form and stamped his authority with a timely 184-run knock against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal.
Following the day’s conclusion, Gaikwad told reporters he made the most of his layoff and prepared for red-ball cricket. However, he refused to label it his 2.0 version, explaining he has often batted outside the opening slot for Maharashtra, his domestic side, and finds himself comfortable.
“I won’t say it is 2.0 because, you know, I think in white ball, I always opened, but in red ball, there was only one spot available in Maharashtra when I joined the team. So, I think that was the only spot available. Whenever you know, there were two proper openers playing, I always used to play at three. So, definitely, there were no real spots for me, but now obviously, I feel I am really comfortable there.”
Despite a transition at the highest level, Ruturaj Gaikwad is still slightly far from making it to the Test team for India, at least for now. However, that could change soon if he continues to perform and score tough runs across domestic tournaments, given the team is still searching for a suitable No.3.
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They have tried a few players and got results in patches, but the spot is still available to claim, and Gaikwad can throw his hat in the ring. The Maharashtra batter himself revealed that he has ample experience at No.3, where he has learned to pace the innings by handling both new-ball and old-ball challenges.
He has all the expertise to be a successful No.3, but the team would want him to score more runs and improve on certain aspects before giving him a chance. What goes in his favour is that the current team management doesn’t shy from picking players based on recency bias to utilise their form for short-term goals.
So, this century from Gaikwad comes at the right time as the team is preparing for the home season, but he should continue to impress with his batting exploits. Quality has never been questioned, and he can force selectors to pick him if he maintains consistency, as the likes of Karun Nair have done in the past.
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