Former Indian opener, Aakash Chopra has opined that Ruturaj Gaikwad hadn’t done himself much good in India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa. In the third T20I in Vizag, Gaikwad played a match-winning knock of 35-ball 57 in the third T20I in Vizag, but he never managed to get going in the rest of the matches. In five matches, the right-hander scored 96 runs at an average of 19.20 and a strike rate of 131.50.
Aakash Chopra reckoned with a number of batters competing for the openers’ slots in the Indian T20I team, Gaikwad has failed to make a mark. The veteran was of the opinion that the Young Turk needed to up his match to stay on the radar of the selectors.
In a recent video on his Youtube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “I have kept Ruturaj Gaikwad’s name above everyone else because there is a huge traffic jam at the top, you can call it Chandni Chowk or Crawford Market jam. There is a crowd there, there is no place for openers.”
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Elaborating his point further, Aakash Chopra said, “If we see from this viewpoint, Ruturaj Gaikwad has gone way back. He played five matches, a lot of people played four only, because the last match was rained off, but Ruturaj had gotten out in that match, so it is five innings for him.”
He further explained, “In five innings, if you have scored a total of 96 runs, unfortunately, it’s not gonna cut it. I love Ruturaj Gaikwad, he is technically very compact, has a very good playing style, but 96 runs in five innings, which includes a good knock of 57. That means the rest of the series was absolutely cold.”
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After making his T20 debut for India in 2021in Sri Lanka, Ruturaj Gaikwad has struggled with consistency. Barring the knock in Vizag, Gaikwad has amassed 78 runs from seven games at an average of 11.14. Ruturaj Gaikwad won the Orange Cap in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) while playing for the Chennai Super Kings, after which the four-time champions retained him for the 2022 edition of the cash-rich tournament.
