With the BCCI announcing India’s squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand, let us have a look as to why star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was dropped from the Men in Blue’s ODI squad for the upcoming series.
The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recently came forward and announced Indiaโs squad for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. With the squad announced, many big names were included in the side, but the exclusion of ace batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was noticed by many fans.ย
It is worth noting that Gaikwadโs exclusion comes as a surprise to many. Gaikwad had been in excellent form of late and had been a brilliant performer in both domestic cricket and for the national team as well.ย
Notably, Gaikwad had smashed a century in his last ODI game for the Men in Blue, and his exclusion from the squad was deemed unjustified by the fans. Interestingly, Gaikwad last featured for India in the ODI series against South Africa and amassed 105 runs in the second ODI of the series in Raipur.ย
Why was Gaikwad dropped?
Interestingly, the squad announcement saw the return of both skipper Shubman Gill and vice captain Shreyas Iyer. While Iyerโs inclusion in the side is subject to fitness, if he is included, there is no space left for Gaikwad in the squad, which is the most probable cause of his exclusion.ย
India will be facing New Zealand in a white-ball multi-format series. The two sides will take on each other across three ODIs and five T20I matches. The first ODI is slated to kick off on January 11, and it could be interesting to see how the Men in Blue fare in the upcoming game.ย
India ODI Squad for 3-Match Series Vs New Zealand: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal
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