‘Unfortunate if he doesn’t play for India,’ Salman Butt wants Ruturaj Gaikwad in India Playing XI soon

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt reckoned that Ruturaj Gaikwad would be hard done by if he doesn’t play for Team India for an extended period of time. The 24-year-old Gaikwad made his debut on the tour of Sri Lanka and played two T20Is where he scored 35 runs.

From there on, he upped his game and won the Orange Cap in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). The Young Turk notched 635 runs and guided the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their fourth IPL title. The right-hander also racked up a ton against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Thereafter, he became the leading run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he amassed 603 runs from five games with four centuries to his name. The Maharashtra batter has now been picked in India’s ODI squad for their series against Kieron Pollard’s West Indies.

Butt, who last played for Pakistan more than a decade ago, reckoned Gaikwad has the potential to taste a significant amount of success while donning the India colours.

Ruturaj Gaikwad is a fantastic player: Salman Butt

“I hope Gaikwad gets a chance, he is a fantastic player. From the time I saw him in the IPL, I have said that it will be great to watch him do well in international cricket. It would be unfortunate if he does not play for a long time for India because he has all the makings of being a top-class player,” Butt was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

Also Read: About time Ruturaj Gaikwad is fast-tracked to the Indian ODI setup  

The Men in Blue already have Rohit Sharma, their skipper, and Shikhar Dhawan as their first choice openers. KL Rahul can also open the batting if the situation demands him to do so. In such a scenario, it remains to be seen if Gaikwad gets a chance to bat at the top of the order.

The ODI series is scheduled to start on Sunday, February 6 with all the three matches to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.