'You need to be in a relationship with some...' - Former India batter slams selectors on dropping star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad from T20I squad

India's star batter, Ruturaj Gaikwad's performance in the recently ended Zimbabwe series was incredible. He scored 133 runs in three innings, with an average of 66.50, including 16 boundaries and four sixes. With that, he jumped up in the T20I rankings to the 7th position. Even after having a great performance and an ICC ranking under his belt, Indian selectors chose to drop him from the T20Is squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka squad. 

This decision didn't sit well with the cricket lovers and the former players, and an outrage was seen on the Internet. Regarding Gaikwad, India's former batter S Badrinath advised him to 'Have a good media manager'. 

"Sometimes it seems like you need a bad guy image when the likes of Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad and others are not selected for the Indian team. It seems that you need to be in a relationship with some Bollywood actresses, have a good media manager, and have body tattoos," said Baridnath via video on his social media account. 

Also Read: Will Rohit and SKY play under Hardik for MI? Captaincy debate gets more complicated with recent turnarounds

Shocked and surprised not to see Ruturaj Gaikwad in the Indian Team for both T20I and ODIs.

My Thoughts 🎥🔗 https://t.co/EBKnryFSUM#INDvSL #CricItWithBadri pic.twitter.com/OilIH1J4CB

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) July 20, 2024

There are certain players like Riyan Parag and Shubman Gill whose performance was quite average in the previous matches. Moreover, Gill was appointed as the vice-captain of India for both ODIs and T20Is. Even after having no experience in a captaincy role, BCCI's favouritism towards Gill is quite evident and unacceptable. Fans' outrage and questions toward the selection committee will only increase if he fails to perform in the upcoming series. 

Suryakumar Yadav appointed as India's captain in T20Is against Sri Lanka

Another shocking decision of selectors was giving Suryakumar Yadav the T20Is captaincy for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. While Hardik Pandya was India's vice-captain in the T20 World Cup 2024, giving Surya the captaincy didn't fit well in the scenario. Hardik's performance and intent in the field were much better than Suryakumar Yadav's, but the selectors' decision was controversial.  

However, there's one piece of good news for the fans: Virat Kohli's inclusion in the Indian team for the ODI series. As per reports, head coach Gautam Gambhir urged Kohli to play in the ODI series, and he agreed to it. Rohit Sharma is leading the team in the ODI series, so this series will be fun to watch.