IND vs ENG: CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad continues to blow up chances to make it to squad

IND vs ENG: Ruturaj Gaikwad, apart from his ton in the Vijay Hazare Trophy vs Services, has largely been poor, which could lead to his non-selection.

Just imagine, for a player to average 57.49 in List A cricket, and 39 in T20s, and yet not be part of the Indian team on a consistent basis.. that could just be pure bad luck. But then, CSK and Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has only himself to blame. Despite starting the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a bang, where he scored 148 vs Services, he hasn’t been able to come up with a string of good scores in the season.

And that could just cost him a berth in the limited-overs IND vs ENG series, starting from Jan 22. On Saturday too, in the quarters clash against Punjab, Gaikwad could only manage 5 from 5, and that virtually ended his chances to be a part of the IND vs ENG series. In 8 matches now, he has only 187 runs, at an average of 37.

Matches	Runs	HS	Average
8	187	148	37

Ruturaj Gaikwad in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Matches	Runs	HS	Average
5	123	97	30.75

Ruturaj Gaikwad in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

If one takes out that 148, he has returned with scores of 1, 8, 12, 13, and now 5, putting a big question mark over his form, for now at least. Not that he had any decent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign as well. Apart from one 97 against Services again, he was a big flop. In 5 matches, he could only score 123 runs, at an average of 30.

With cut-throat competition for every spot in the team, clearly it will become increasingly tough for Ruturaj Gaikwad to make his way through the team again. The likes of Prabhmsimaran Singh, Abhishek Porel, and Rajat Patidar are finding ways to score better than him, and rise over him in the pecking order for the Indian team. While his class may remain intact, but then he will have to hope for a turnaround in the domestic performances for sure.