‘Very tough on him’: Former India cricketer weighs in on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s omission from India’s ODI squad

With India all set to take on New Zealand across a multi-format white-ball series, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) came forward and announced the Men in Blue’s squad for the upcoming ODI series. With the squad announcement, many fans came forward and wondered why star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad had been omitted from the ODI squad. 

It is worth noting that Gaikwad has been in brilliant form of late, even scoring a century in the second ODI of India’s recent series against South Africa. Speaking on him not being selected, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan came forward and gave his take on the same. 

“These 11 players may be different than those that will play in the T20 World Cup. There aren’t players in this squad that will feature in T20 World Cup 2026 – whether it’s Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, or Shubman Gill. We used to talk about having two different teams for different formats. India can do that. I can’t remember any side in the world having this type of bench strength. Hence, it’s a tough job for the selectors. That’s where comes Ruturaj Gaikwad, who doesn’t find a place despite scoring a ton. It’s very tough on him because Gaikwad made runs while batting out of position,” Pathan said in a video on his YouTube channel. 

Pathan emphasised the importance of communication

Pathan also talked about how important it is to keep communication open with someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad, and how it can go a long way in the future. 

“It’s a question of how you communicate with someone like Gaikwad. I’m sure the selectors will have communicated well and it will be tough for a player if the selectors have not done it. We also have been in that situation where the selectors have not spoken to us and we feel what is going on. But if there is a communication, the picture is clear and the room for comeback is present,” he said.

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