BCCI accused of 'favouritism' over 'horrible' Gaikwad snub for AUS Tests; fans say 'They're playing with his career'
27 days ago | 5 Views
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Friday, picked the 18-member squad for the upcoming five-Test series against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India, who are currently under pressure of defending their 18-series winning streak at home in the contest against New Zealand, will look to defend the trophy when the rubber starts from November 22 at Perth.
Delhi speedster Harshit Rana and Andhra seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy earned their maiden call-up, while Kuldeep Yadav was not in reckoning for a spot in the team as he has been advised long-term rehabilitation for his groin injury. Mohammed Shami, who continues to recover from his ankle injury incurred in the 2023 ODI World Cup, was not picked for the series despite admitting being "pain free" last week.
Among the notable exclusions which angered fans on social media was the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad. The Maharashtra batter, who was even picked as the India A captain for the upcoming tour of Australia, was earlier this month reported to be picked as the backup opener for the Border-Gavaskar series. The cover is because of the possibility of Rohit skipping one of the earlier Test matches due to personal reasons.
However, despite shoring consistency across Duleep, Irani and Ranji Trophy matches in the last two months, he was left out with selectors preferring in-form Bengal man Abhimanyu Easwaran, who scored four centuries in his last four first-class matches across those aforementioned three tournaments.
Close, yet so far for Ruturaj Gaikwad
In 2023, Gaikwad was picked as a travelling reserve for the World Test Championship final, before was replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal owing to his personal commitments. Later, he was picked for the tour of West Indies that followed, but did not get an appearance. Gaikwad, who then led India to a gold-medal haul in the Asian Games that summer, was recalled for the tour of South Africa in December, but missed out with Easwaran replacing him owing to an injury.
In the ongoing domestic season, Gaikwad has been in impressive form, scoring 472 runs at 47.2, comprising a century and three fifties.
