Gautam Gambhir has let down Ruturaj Gaikwad as reports have indicated that he doesn’t want the Maharashtra opener as the backup for India’s upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in July.
Gautam Gambhir will take over as India coach full-time from the Sri Lanka limited-overs tour onwards and there are some massive changes expected in the Men in Blue side. Already Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from T20Is and reports have stated that Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah, along with Rohit and Kohli won’t play in ODIs in Sri Lanka.
Many candidates would be looking to fill in Rohit Sharma’s spot, with Ruturaj Gaikwad being one of them.
Gautam Gambhir wants Abhishek Sharma in place of Ruturaj Gaikwad as backup opener in India T20I team
Anandabazar Patrika reports that Gautam Gambhir would probably start the T20I series against Sri Lanka with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as his two first-choice openers. According to the report, Abhishek Sharma—who is probably going to travel with the team—is the team’s second-choice opener instead of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
A prominent player in India’s most recent Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Zimbabwe was Abhishek Sharma. In just his second innings for India, he produced a brilliant century, one of his four-match totals of 124 runs. In terms of innings, he became the fastest Indian to register a first T20I ton as he smashed the century in 46 balls.
On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad might miss out on the series despite scoring 133 runs in the series including two half-centuries.
Also, Hardik Pandya is set to return to action and will captain India in T20Is. The team’s vice-captain will be Suryakumar Yadav, who will also rejoin the team. Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Kuldeep Yadav are also expected to rejoin the team.
Rumor has it that Shreyas Iyer may also be chosen for the series. The source claims, however, that there is still uncertainty regarding him and Ishan Kishan being given a chance, particularly because their central contracts were terminated earlier this year.
Riyan Parag, Sai Sudharsan, and Jitesh Sharma are sure to miss out on the Sri Lanka T20Is.
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir Directs Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah To Play Sri Lanka ODIs- Report