His recent FC form has been exceptional.
Why is Ruturaj Gaikwad not in India A playing XI? That has been a major query since South Africa A won the toss, and team sheets for the 2nd IND A vs SA A Test have been released.
Gaikwad was added to the squad for this game in Bengaluru, as several Indian stars returned to prepare for the impending home series. The five left out of the XI are: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Sarfaraz Khan, and Gurnoor Brar, as South Africa A opted to field first.
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Multiple reasons have gone behind the decision to exclude Ruturaj Gaikwad from the XI for the 2nd IND A vs SA A Test, especially after his recent heroics in red-ball cricket. The genuine answer to the question ‘Why is Ruturaj Gaikwad not in India A playing XI’ is that there was no spot for him.
If we look at the team composition, KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran have returned to the fold after both were unavailable for the first game. That left no spot for Ayush Mhatre, who opened with Sai Sudharsan, who now bats at No.3 in this fixture, in the opening rubber.
They had to accommodate both Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal in the XI since both are part of the India Test squad for the South Africa series later this month. Getting adequate match practice is why most main Test players have been featuring in this second unofficial Test.
Then, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are other obvious picks, leaving no place for Gaikwad anywhere from the top to the middle order. Hence, the CSK batter had to sit out despite being highly impressive since his comeback from injury.
Since his return, Ruturaj Gaikwad has actively focused on honing red-ball skills and found ample success. Firstly, he hit a magnificent 184 in the Duleep Trophy before registering scores of 91 & 55* in the opening round of the Ranji Trophy against Kerala.
Later, Gaikwad again notched up a century against Chandigarh, scoring a well-made 116 to help his team win and collected the Man of the Match award. His recent FC scores read: 184, 16, 9, 7, 91, 55*, 116, & 36*.
So, he must feel hard done by after being excluded from the playing XI in the 2nd IND A vs SA A Test. Unfortunately, India A had to pick all the permanent Test batters, but Ruturaj Gaikwad will get his chance in future to press a case for India recall.
India A: KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Harsh Dubey, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
South Africa A: Marques Ackerman (c), Jordan Hermann, Lesego Senokwane, Zubayr Hamza, Temba Bavuma, Connor Esterhuizen(wk), Tiaan Van Vuuren, Prenelan Subrayen, Tshepo Moreki, Kyle Simmonds, Okuhle Cele
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