Ex-chief selector Kris Srikkanth joked that to get picked in the Indian team, Ruturaj Gaikwad should tell the current selection committee that he can keep wickets because he plays alongside MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League IPL. The former India opener's comments came after Gaikwad was dropped from the squad, which will face New Zealand in an upcoming three-match ODI series despite scoring a century against South Africa last month.
India decided to retain Rishabh Pant in the squad versus New Zealand despite not playing a single game in the three-match series against the Proteas. With Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill returning to the setup after recovering from injuries, the Maharashtra captain was shown the door. However, Srikkanth believes that Gaikwad should have been picked in the side in place of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
The 1983 World Cup winner opined that Gaikwad's omission shows scoring an international century doesn't guarantee a place in the Indian team for future matches. Srikkanth said that the right-handed batter will have to return to domestic cricket and continue scoring runs consistently.
