The Indian men’s cricket team, under the leadership of senior batter Shikhar Dhawan, will take on the West Indies in a three-match ODI series. The first match will take place at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Friday (July 22). In the three-match assignment, India is without a host of first-team players, and in their absence, a number of youngsters will get a chance to present their case and impress with their performance.
Since skipper Rohit Sharma is not part of the ODI series and KL Rahul is only selected to play in T20Is, the Indian team management will have to find a new batting partner for Shikhar Dhawan at the top. There are three designated opening batters selected in the squad in the form of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. And according to former Indian Test cricketer Wasim Jaffer, Chennai Super Kings batter Ruturaj should partner skipper Dhawan in the three-match series against Nicholas Pooran & Co.
Jaffer, via a tweet from his official account on Thursday (July 21), batted for the 25-year-old right-handed batter’s selection over the likes of Gill and Ishan. Jaffer highlighted that the Pune-based cricketer scored four centuries in his last five innings in the Vijay Hazare 50-over domestic tournament and that’s why he deserves a look in.
“I think Ruturaj should make his ODI debut and open with Shikhar in the WI series. Ruturaj scored 4 tons in 5 inns in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, deserves a look in. Also left-right combo stays. #WIvIND,” Jaffer tweeted.
After his sensational performances for CSK in 2021, Ruturaj earned his maiden Indian T20I call-up for the Sri Lanka series last year, and up till now, he has played in nine matches. He has scored 135 runs in eight innings at an average of 16.87, with his best score of 57 coming up against South Africa last month in Visakhapatnam.
