IND vs AUS Test Series: BCCI has picked up their 18-man squad for the T20I series against South Africa and the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana have been called up for national duties but have no place in either squad for Ruturaj Gaikwad. Some Indian fans are fuming over BCCI selectors after seeing both squads.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been consistent throughout the domestic cricket season. He has scored notable runs in the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup, and now in the Ranji Trophy for Maharashtra. Ruturaj has also been designated as the India A team captain. So, the question arises on social media platforms: ‘Why did BCCI not select Ruturaj Gaikwad?’
Some previous reports suggest that Ruturaj might get a ticket to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Team India test captain Rohit Sharma is uncertain for the first test match in Perth. So, BCCI has to find his replacement or a backup. Yashasvi Jaiswal will be there to face the new ball. If Rohit is unavailable to play, who will pair up with Jaiswal?
BCCI has called up Bengal Ranji-team batter Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has also been in fine form throughout the domestic matches. The right-handed opening batter has scored four centuries in four consecutive matches. Shubman Gill also has experience playing as an opening batsman. So, BCCI has to pick between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu Easwaran as a replacement for Rohit Sharma.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.