Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has recovered from Covid-19 and is out of isolation, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) source confirmed to Sports Tak. Gaikwad has rejoined the squad one day ahead of the final ODI of the three-ODI series against West Indies.
However, it is unlikely that Gaikwad will get to make his ODI debut on February 11. Shikhar Dhawan, who recovered a day before the second ODI wasn’t included in the playing XI as Rishabh Pant opened the innings alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. Dhawan did not play despite being in good form on the South Africa tour.
Dhawan is expected to return to the side for the third ODI. It will be a surprising move if Gaikwad gets plays ahead of him.
The 24-year-old contracted Covid-19 last week along with Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and backup fast bowler Navdeep Saini. Gaikwad is the last to recover from the virus. It will be a missed opportunity for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener as he is not a part of the T20I series starting February 16 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Maharashtra’s limited-overs skipper has been in stupendous form which earned him a place in the ODI squad. Before flying to South Africa, he scored four centuries in five games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. Earlier he was in fine form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well.
The youngster did not get a chance to make his ODI debut in South Africa as well despite India’s middle-order problem. India lost the ODI series while Gaikwad warmed the benches. In Dhawan’s absence, Gaikwad had a big opportunity to open the innings but he tested positive for the virus too.
India have already taken a 2-0 lead in the ODI series as Caribbean batters have been unable to bat for 50 overs on both occasions. In the last game, Rohit surprised everyone with Pant opening the innings. Few more experiments are expected in the third ODI as India look to clean sweep West Indies for the first time in an ODI series with three or more games.
