The South Africa tour for Ruturaj Gaikwad has come to an end with a bitter feeling as after two low scores in the ODI series, the youngster suffered a finger injury which has ruled him out of the upcoming 2-match Test series.
Ruturaj Gaikwad managed scores of only 5 and 4 in the first two ODIs, before missing the 3rd ODI due to a finger injury, which he had sustained while fielding during the 2nd ODI. Ruturaj Gaikwad was supposed to be the backup batsman for India’s first-choice top 5 in the Test series. He will now fly to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Here are 3 batsmen who could replace Ruturaj Gaikwad in India’s Test squad:
Abhimanyu Easwaran
Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran seems to be the frontrunner to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad in the Test squad. Abhimanyu is currently part of the India A squad that is on a shadow tour of South Africa. Easwaran was part of the Indian squad last year in Bangladesh but didn’t get his maiden Test cap.
He averages 47 after 88 first-class matches and has regularly been part of the India A teams in recent years. In the practice game in Pretoria against the Indian team bowlers, he scored 61* runs.
Sai Sudharsan
Amongst the most impressive of batters in the ODI series was young Sai Sudharsan. The 22-year-old Tamil Nadu batsman recorded two fifties in his first two ODI innings while opening the batting.
Sudharsan has featured in only 12 red-ball first-class matches, wherein he averages 42 with 2 centuries and 3 fifties. What he has shown in the ODI series, and the IPL earlier this year, is his calm temperament: the youngster didn’t get fazed by the grandeur of the occasion or the strength of the opposition. If Sudharsan continues on his good form in domestic first-class cricket and for India A, he could soon be in line to be the next top-order batter for India in the Test team.
Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar has both first-class experience and the class and ability to deal with pacers on challenging surfaces. In 52 first-class games, the Madhya Pradesh batter averages 45, having notched up 11 centuries and 22 half-centuries.
Patidar, who made his ODI debut in the 3rd ODI, has a reputation for being one of the best uncapped Indian batters against the short and back-of-length stuff from pacers.
Last year, Patidar helped his side win the Ranji Trophy and then was selected in the India A team.
