NEW DELHI: The Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) introduced the 18-member squad for the upcoming five-Take a look at sequence towards Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Friday. The Indian cricket board additionally picked the squad for the four-match T20I sequence towards South Africa.
The five-match Take a look at sequence is about to start on November 22 in Perth, with India aiming to defend the trophy. The squad options two new faces in Delhi pacer Harshit Rana and Andhra seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who acquired their maiden call-up to the nationwide workforce.Nonetheless, the choice committee opted to not embody Kuldeep Yadav within the squad, as he has been suggested to endure long-term rehabilitation for his groin harm. One other notable absentee is Mohammed Shami, who continues to be recovering from an ankle harm sustained throughout the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s absence was among the many notable exclusions that sparked anger on social media, as he missed out on choice in each the Take a look at and T20I squads.
The Maharashtra batsman, who was just lately appointed because the captain of the India A workforce for his or her upcoming tour of Australia, was anticipated to be included as a backup opener for the Border-Gavaskar sequence.
This determination was based mostly on the potential for Rohit Sharma lacking one of many earlier Take a look at matches on account of private causes.
Gaikwad has been in spectacular kind, persistently performing effectively within the Duleep, Irani, and Ranji Trophy matches over the previous two months.
Nonetheless, the selectors selected to incorporate the in-form Bengal batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has scored 4 centuries in his final 4 first-class matches throughout the aforementioned tournaments.
Followers took to social media to precise their disappointment and query the choice to exclude Gaikwad from the squad.
“Politics And Favouritism Received As soon as Once more,” a fan wrote, whereas one other commented, “Cannot discover Ruturaj Gaikwad anyplace in each squads.”
Gaikwad is presently the main run-scorer for Maharashtra within the ongoing Ranji Trophy event, with 231 runs in 2 matches at a median of 77.00, together with one century and one half-century.
