On Wednesday, the half century by Ruturaj Gaikwad moved him to first position in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League Orange Cap Race, taking over the premium batsman of team India, Virat Kohli. The captain of the Chennai Super Kings smashed 62 runs and 48 balls, which consisted of 5 boundaries and 2 sixes. He is now leading the orange cap race with 509 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 146.68. He has also smashed a century and four-and-a-half centuries.
Gaikwad has scored more runs than Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Jaiswal. However, Gaikwad failed to make it to the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. He also failed to find a place on the four-member reserve list. Although experienced players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal have been picked for top-order, Shubhman Gill has also been put in the reserves among top-order batsmen.
The legend of Indian cricket team Krishnamachari Srikkkanth, while speaking on his YouTube channel, got angry at the BCCI for their decision to snub Gaikwad. He also pointed out the poor form of Shubhman Gill while accusing the selection committee of favouritism.
Srikkanth said, “The captain of Gujarat Titans Shubhman Gill is in poor form. So can anyone give me the reason for selecting Gill in the team. Ruturaj Gaikwad deserves a place and there is no doubt in this as in 18 innings he had scored more than 500 runs. Not only this, but he had also scored a century against Australia. Shubhman is the selectors’ delight that he gets the chance even if he fails. He finds a place even if he fails in tests, ODIs, and T20s. There is way too much favouritism in selecting the players. The selection of the team is all about favouritism.”
Another notable exclusion from the team has been KL Rahul, who is the first-choice wicket keeper and batsman of the Indian cricket team at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Meanwhile, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Shreyas Iyer, has also missed out on the spot. The brilliant form of Shivam Dube with the bat in this season of the IPL also helped him get selected for the tournament.
