Ex-chief selector Kris Srikkanth joked that to get picked in the Indian team, Ruturaj Gaikwad should tell the current selection committee that he can keep wickets because he plays alongside MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The former India opener's comments came after Gaikwad was dropped from the squad, which will face New Zealand in an upcoming three-match ODI series despite scoring a century against South Africa last month.
India decided to retain Rishabh Pant in the squad versus New
Zealand despite not playing a single game in the three-match series against the Proteas. With Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill returning to the setup after recovering from injuries, the Maharashtra captain was shown the door. However, Srikkanth believes that Gaikwad should have been picked in the side in place of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
"Maybe Ruturaj Gaikwad can say I've played with Dhoni so I can also keep. That's the only way he might get selected in the team. Shreyas Iyer is a certainty, so he should have been included. But Ruturaj Gaikwad should have been in the 15. Instead of having Nitish Kumar Reddy, keep him in the 15," Srikkanth was quoted as saying by India Today.
The 1983 World Cup winner opined that Gaikwad's omission shows scoring an international century doesn't guarantee a place in the Indian team for future matches. Srikkanth said that the right-handed batter will have to return to domestic cricket and continue scoring runs consistently.
"It's saying even if you score a century, there is no chance. Now Gaikwad has to start from scratch and score a mountain of runs because they'll forget this century against South Africa. They've dropped him also so he has to score big again in domestic cricket," said Srikkanth.
Memory is short for everybody, so they'll forget it soon: Srikkanth
Srikkanth said that while Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been retained for the ODIs versus New Zealand, will not make it to the playing XI, he is at least in the scheme of things. However, Gaikwad's performance against South Africa might soon be forgotten as he isn't a part of the side.
"Yashasvi Jaiswal also won't play in the 11 but at least he's in the reserves. So by being in the 15, he will at least be in the scheme of things. But with this selection, they've removed Ruturaj Gaikwad from the overall scheme of things and from the system itself. And when you're removed from the system itself, everyone, including the public and the selectors, will forget about him," said Srikkanth.
"It's very unfair. The whole idea of performance in an international match goes to waste. An effortless century like that is going to waste. Memory is short for everybody, so they'll forget it soon."
