Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar is of the opinion that Ruturaj Gaikwad should right away be inducted into the Indian national team. Speaking to The Times of India, Vengsarkar sounded miffed while speaking about the topic and asked ‘how many more runs does he (Gaikwad) need to get into the team?’.
“You must pick a man in form. How many more runs does he need to score to prove himself? It is high time that the selectors pick him straight away and give him a proper opportunity,” Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by TOI.
The 24-year-old Chennai Super Kings batsman has been in exceptional form throughout the year. After topping the scoring chart with a massive 635 runs from 16 matches, Gaikwad was given a debut in Sri Lanka where he had a quiet tournament.
However, he returned back with strong performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and currently has 435 runs under his belt in just four matches. Gaikwad has already scored three centuries in the tournament and is miles ahead of the next best batsman, another Indian team star Venkatesh Iyer.
“It is not like Ruturaj is 18 or 19. He is 24 now. There is no point of picking him when he’ll be 28,” the former Indian captain concluded.