“There's no point in picking him when he'll be 28” - Dilip Vengsarkar bats for Ruturaj Gaikwad’s inclusion for South Africa ODIs

Former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar feels the selectors must pick in-form batter Ruturaj Gaikwad for the three-match ODI series in South Africa. According to Vengsarkar, Gaikwad has scored enough runs to prove himself.

24-year-old Gaikwad’s has been in exceptional form with the bat recently, registering three consecutive hundreds for Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Before being dismissed for 21 against Uttarakhand, Gaikwad’s scores read - 136 (vs Madhya Pradesh), 154* (vs Chhattisgarh) and 124 (against Kerala).

Speaking to TOI, Vengsarkar said about Gaikwad:

"You must pick a man in form. How many more runs does he need to score to prove himself ? It is high time the selectors pick him straight away and give him a proper opportunity.”

Before his exploits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Gaikwad won the Orange Cap while representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021. He amassed 635 runs in 16 matches at an average of 45.35, playing a key role in CSK’s fourth title triumph.

While Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul look set to open the innings in South Africa during the ODIs, Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishan Kishan are in the fray as back-up openers. Vengsarkar suggested:

"He (Gaikwad) can bat at No 3 also. He must be accommodated in the team. It's not like Ruturaj 18 or 19. He's 24 now. There's no point in picking him when he'll be 28.”

Gaikwad has played 21 first-class matches so far, scoring 1349 runs, including four hundreds. Further, in 63 List A games, he has 3116 runs to his name at an impressive average of 52.81.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad’s India debut

Gaikwad was among the many youngsters who got an opportunity to don Indian colors during the team’s tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. Led by Shikhar Dhawan and coached by Rahul Dravid, India took a second-string team to the island nation in July while the main squad was in England.

Gaikwad made his debut in the second T20I of the three-match series, scoring 21 off 18. He was dismissed for 14 off 10 in the next T20I as Sri Lanka clinched the three-match series 2-1.