Published: Jan 04, 2026, 05:38 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 04, 2026, 05:38 PM (IST)
Former Indian opener Sadagoppan Ramesh expresses his feeling for the star Indian player and one of the finest batters of all time. Ruturaj Gaikwad deserves a place in the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series against New Zealand starting on January 11th. However, Sadagoppan shares disappointment over Gaikwad’s snub from the team.
“He could’ve been selected in the squad in place of someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy. Why is a fifth seam-bowling option required? Whether or not Reddy will bat or bowl is unclear. When it’s not even clear whether he will feature in the eleven, someone like Gaikwad should’ve been there in the squad.“
Sadagoppan also said that there is one more chance for Ruturaj Gaikwad to find a place in the ODI squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand. The star player, Shreyas Iyer, is still not fully recovered from his injury, so it could be an opportunity for Gaikwad to be back in team.
“India doesn’t need a fifth seam-bowling option in the original squad for a home series. Even if there is an injury in the squad, someone can be called up soon as it is a home series. What they may have thought is if Shreyas Iyer doesn’t clear the fitness test, Ruturaj Gaikwad can slot into the playing eleven. Even if Iyer is fit and plays all three matches, I feel Gaikwad was a must in the squad,” he added.
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
