Ruturaj Gaikwad will get a long rope only when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retire: Ravi Ashwin

Former Indian spinner and analyst Ravi Ashwin has opened up on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s axing from India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand, scheduled to start on Sunday, January 11, in Vadodara.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin has asserted that the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, could’ve selected Gaikwad in Rishabh Pant’s place, adding that Pant is more suited to bat in the top-order than in the middle-order.

“Could Gaikwad have been kept in the squad? I think that was a real possibility. The only spot of contention is between Pant and Gaikwad. It was a straight decision. Shreyas Iyer deserved to come back after the injury, so no discussion there. It is his rightful position. The debate is over who goes out. Between a second wicketkeeper and a batter, you can get a keeper from anywhere to cover,” Ravi Ashwin said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

For the unversed, Ruturaj Gaikwad was in sublime form, scoring a century against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur. However, he lost his spot in the squad with Shreyas Iyer returning to the squad, having recovered from a spleen injury.

“Who will keep a track on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s mindset now? At four or five, I am sticking my neck out, his batting against spin and ability to run between wickets and close out an innings is phenomenal. I personally don’t think Pant can bat in the middle-order in white-ball cricket at the moment. I think he is a top-three batter,” he added.

“Ruturaj will get a long rope only when Rohit and Kohli decide to hang up their boots. Till then, getting a long run for him is going to be hard,” he noted.

“When Kohli came into the team, there were not as many players knocking on the door with immense talent and Kohli’s talent was shining through. I remember when we were playing CSK vs RCB in Durban, he stepped out and hit Muralitharan for a six. He made everyone take notice. Those are the things that stood out. The competition for places now is absolutely brutal,” Ashwin concluded.

India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series:

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, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. 

*subject to fitness clearance.

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