This is not the first time that several in-form players have been left out of India’s team selection, but this time it is not because of injuries or publicity or any conflict with the men’s selection committee, but because of the increasing depth of the Indian team.
Such players include Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rinku Singh, who have some numbers in domestic cricket. India will also be eyeing to build a core team for the World Cup to be held in South Africa next year and hence some experiments are needed.
While the Indian team has many good players and players who have impressed with stellar performances, some players have been overlooked at times despite their dominant performances. Therefore, Aakash Chopra has given a strange suggestion to such players.
“If these three players had played for a different country, they would have been a permanent part of their ODI team -” – Aakash Chopra
Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra named three Indian players who fall into the category of real-time Indian stars who have been consistently ignored by the BCCI selectors as well as the Indian team management.
Among the three names mentioned, one name is also that of Rituraj Gaikwad. It is known that Gaikwad is a brilliant batsman and has some remarkable stats in List A cricket, where he averages 58.83, which is the highest by any Indian with 5000+ runs in List A cricket. He also scored a century for India in the last series against South Africa.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel, “If these three players had played for a different country, they would have been a permanent part of their ODI team.”
“First of all, there is Ruturaj Gaikwad. If you look at his List A numbers, it will shock you. He has the best List A average ever, he has scored more than 5000 runs in 99 matches, of which 20 are centuries. Gaikwad has also played a few ODIs and scored a century in the last series. But he is still struggling to find a place in the Indian team. We have that kind of depth. Gaikwad is Invincible,” he added.
Devdutt Padikkal’s average in List A cricket is more than 80
The next name on the list is the star of this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy, Karnataka batsman Devdutt Padikkal, who has been unbeaten this season, and has credited his coaches at RCB for his transformation into a prolific strokemaker.
Aakash Chopra said via the above source, “The second player in this list has a List A average of 82. At an average of 82, Padikkal has scored over 3000 runs in just 39 matches. While Gaikwad has played the least, Padikkal is not even part of the conversation. He is brilliant, but there is no place for Padikkal yet.”
Devdutt Padikkal managed to score 640 runs in just 7 innings this season and he averages 91.42 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and is currently the leading run-scorer in the domestic competition.
“Rinku is not a part of the conversation” – Aakash Chopra
The last name suggested was UP middle-order batsman Rinku Singh, who averages 53.44 in List A cricket. Although, unlike Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal, Rinku does not have many centuries, as many say, he bats at one of the most important and difficult positions in the XI.
“The third is Rinku Singh. He has played almost 70 List A games and averages over 50. Rinku doesn’t score centuries often because he plays in the middle order. But Rinku’s stats are still shocking. Like Padikkal, Rinku is also not part of the conversation. That tells you about the depth of India’s talent, and that’s incredible,” argued Aakash Chopra.
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