NEW DELHI: India’s squad for the ODI series against New Zealand came as a major surprise after Ruturaj Gaikwad was left out despite delivering solid performances in the recent South Africa series.
The omission has sparked widespread debate, with fans and former cricketers questioning the selectors over certain inclusions that appeared unnecessary.
While analysing the squad composition, Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath first focused on the inclusion of Nitish Reddy.
“Along with the two all rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar Nitish is there in the squad. I’ve no idea why he’s there in the side.”
He then went a step further and questioned Reddy’s credentials while contrasting them with Gaikwad’s omission.
“They say he’s an all rounder but with the ball he is getting smashed everywhere. Gaikwad has been hard done by. Why is he not there in the team and why is Reddy in the team? There is definitely some inconsistency there.”
He then shifted focus entirely to Gaikwad’s credentials and recent performances. Badrinath explained how Gaikwad adapted to different roles and continued to score runs consistently across formats, strengthening his case for selection.
“They sent him at No. 4 against South Africa because there wasn’t a spot at the top and he responded with a hundred. Following that he’s smashing runs for fun in List A cricket at every opportunity. He has two centuries and a half century in six innings with an overall List A average of over 57 with 5,000 runs. No one has such a record.”
