With a string of good scores, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in top form of late.
One of the major takeaways from India's 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa was the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
After focusing on domestic cricket and performing well for India A, the opening batter has been rewarded with a call-up to the senior side following a two-year hiatus.
Gaikwad, who captains Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, last played an ODI in December 2023.
Although he deserved a place in the team, luck has played its part.
Over the last two years, he had been persistently ignored by the selectors amid tight competition for spots in the batting order, especially due to the rise of Shubman Gill at the top and the presence of proven performers like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the middle-order.
However, with Gill, now the ODI skipper, out due to a neck injury, and Shreyas recovering from a spleen injury, Gaikwad finally got an opportunity to don the national colours again.
The Maharashtra batter has appeared in six ODIs so far, in which he has tallied 115 runs at an average of 19.16 and a strike rate of 73, with the best score being 71.
A well-deserved call-up
With a string of good scores, Gaikwad has been in top form of late.
When India A won an ODI series against their South African counterparts recently, he bagged the player-of-the-series award, amassing 210 runs at an impressive average of 85.00, including a century and fifty.
With Yashasvi Jaiswal set to open alongside Rohit Sharma in the senior side, Gaikwad will be eying the number four slot. However, as Rishabh Pant, who has played just one ODI since his return from a life-threatening road accident in 2022, and Tilak Varma, India's hero in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, will also be battling for the same spot, it will be tough for Gaikwad to find a place in the Playing XI.
Given his experience, Pant, who has played 31 ODIs and scored 871 runs in 27 innings at an average of over 33, might get the nod ahead of Gaikwad although there are concerns over lack of competitive action under his belt in the 50-over format.
If it boils down to Gaikwad and Tilak, the former might emerge as the frontrunner. Tilak's last five List A outings have been 11, 29 not out, 39, 3 and 94.
He also had a very underwhelming T20I series in Australia, scoring just 34 runs across three innings.
On the other hand, Gaikwad has enjoyed a brilliant run in the domestic cricket.
In his last eight matches, he has scored 724 runs at an average of 90.50, with three centuries and fifties each and a best score of 184, which came for West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy.
Overall, in 89 List A matches, Gaikwad has scored 4,534 runs at an average of 57.39, with a strike rate of over 100, including 17 centuries and 18 fifties. His best score is an unbeaten 220.
In the absence of Gill, Rahul will lead India in the home series against South Africa, starting from November 30.
India ODI squad:
KL Rahul (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.