As the BCCI announced the squads for the series against West Indies, Ruturaj Gaikwad has retained his place in India‘s ODI squad however he couldn’t find a place in the T20 squad. Ruturaj was picked for 3-match T20I series against New Zealand immediately after the T20 World Cup when Virat Kohli opted for the rest but he couldn’t get a game in the series.

The 24-year old also travelled to South Africa for the 3-match ODI series but again he didn’t get any game as the stand-in captain KL Rahul promoted himself to open the batting along with Shikhar Dhawan. And since the regular captain Rohit Sharma returns back to the team, he will have to wait further for his chance in the XI.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was the orange cap winner in the IPL 2021

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt also wants to see Ruturaj Gaikwad getting a chance in the upcoming series against West Indies as he believes that he can serve Indian cricket for a long time.

“I hope Gaikwad gets a chance, he is a fantastic player. From the time I saw him in the IPL, I have said that it will be great to watch him do well in international cricket. It would be unfortunate if he does not play for a long time for India because he has all the makings of being a top-class player,” Salman Butt said.

Ruturaj had a formidable year as a batter as he scored a truckload of runs everywhere. He was the Orange Cup winner in the last IPL season when he scored 635 runs with a strike rate of 136.26 which included one hundred and four fifties. Then in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, he scored 259 runs in 5 matches with a strike rate of 149.71.

File image of Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan [L] and Rohit Sharma | Sportzpics for BCCI — Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are likely to open in the ODI series against West Indies (File pic)| Sportzpics for BCCI

He continued the same form in the domestic 50-over tournament to put his case strongly for ODI cricket. He scored 603 runs in 5 innings with an average of 150.75 and a strike rate of 112.92 which included 4 hundreds which gave him a ticket to the South Africa tour.

However, in his T20I debut, he couldn’t make much impression. In the Sri Lanka tour last year he scored only 35 runs in 2 innings.

It will be interesting to see if India gives him a chance by resting one of the openers. The first ODI between India and West Indies will be played on February 6 in Ahmedabad.

Also read Virat Kohli And KL Rahul Are Equally Good But When Rohit Sharma Plays, He Is A Different Level Altogether – Harbhajan Singh