'Difficult country to play’: Star player on Ruturaj Gaikwad missing out of Indian squad

Ruturaj Gaikwad is one of the biggest players currently in the Indian domestic cricket circuit, courtesy of his performance this year in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Leading his state side in the domestic 50-over tournament, he smashed four centuries in five appearances, while taking the team through to the finals. Although Saurashtra clinched the title, Gaikwad hit his fourth consecutive 100+ runs knock in the exciting summit clash.

In a recent video uploaded to his Youtube channel, senior Indian player Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about the chances for Ruturaj Gaikwad to play for India. It is noteworthy that Gaikwad made his T20I debut in 2021 and made his last appearance in the format on June 26, 2022. He made his ODI debut, on October 6, 2022, against South Africa. 

'India is becoming a difficult country to genuinely play cricket': Ravichandran Ashwin

However, it’s the domestic stats of Ruturaj Gaikwad that has left everyone awestruck. With the ODI World Cup 2023 coming, the Indian team kicked off a busy schedule with the ODI and Test series against Bangladesh on December 8. After being added to India’s squad for the T20I series against New Zealand in November, Gaikwad didn't feature in the squad which travelled to Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, speaking about the Maharashtra youngster, Ashwin said, “Since he (Gaikwad) is from India, whom will he replace? Not even replace but look at whom he is competing with. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and we have Rishabh Pant are opening as well. India is becoming a difficult country to genuinely play cricket. I mean, competition for one spot is heating up. And Ruturaj is not heating it up; he has taken the solar panel on his head and scored runs for fun. Amazing, very well done”,

Alongside being a reliable better for his state team, Gaikwad is undoubtedly the biggest to come out of Chennai Super Kings (CSK).  “I am sure all the CSK fans are super happy. It will be a matter of time before Ruturaj Gaikwad sets the world stage on fire," Ashwin said.