'Hope he is being communicated to...': Ravichandran Ashwin's blunt take on star opener's exclusion from India's squad for Australia T20Is

Legendary India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Ruturaj Gaikwad deserves to be in the scheme of things when it comes to the T20I format. This comes after the batter was recently named as the vice-captain in India A's squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa A. Notably, Gaikwad's last appearance for India in the shortest format came against Zimbabwe in 2024 and he ended the three-match series with 133 runs under his name.

Ashwin feels that there is no proper reason behind completely sidelining Gaikwad from the format and hoped that the coaches have been properly communicating with the 28-year-old regarding his repeated snub from international cricket.

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"We do not need to talk about Ruturaj Gaikwad's class. He's got all the shots in the book. The only thing is there is no information as to why he is not in the scene after his last T20 series. When he played the last T20 the coach was different, the captain was different. The issue is if there is no communication with such players they will largely be left in the dark. I really hope he is being communicated to. He is batting brilliantly in red ball as well. I hope they consider him for a middle-order role," he said on his YouTube channel.

Intense competition in Indian team

It certainly won't be an easy task for Gaikwad to get into the current Indian T20I team as the duo of Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill are their openers. Such is the competition that even Yashasvi Jaiswal isn't able to make the cut into the team. However, the South Africa A series will be a good chance for Gaikwad to impress the selectors once again and make a comeback into the team.

India A's schedule

The three-match unofficial ODI series between India A and South Africa A will commence from November 13. Rishabh Pant will be the one to lead the team and the squad also includes of notable players like Sai Sudharsan, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj.

India A's squad for South Africa A ODI series: Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK).