Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has suggested Rahul Tewatia let his performance do the talking and not his tweets. Tewatia felt disappointed and upset after being ignored by the selectors when he was not named in the squad for the 2-T20I tour of Ireland later this month.
Despite the absence of the Test players, who will be in England at that time, and Tewatia’s brilliant show in the IPL 2022 which helped Gujarat Titans win their maiden IPL title in their debut year, the Haryana all-rounder was not selected for the Ireland tour.
After the snub, Tewatia took to Twitter and wrote: “Expectations hurts” (with couple of raised eyebrows emojis).
Here, check out Tewatia’s tweet:
Expectations hurts
— Rahul Tewatia (@rahultewatia02) June 15, 2022
Graeme Smith’s advice to Tewatia
While speaking to Star Sports, Graeme Smith pointed out that the decision-makers made the selections looking at the conditions in Australia. His advice to the all-rounder was simple: “I would say instead of Twitter, focus, perform and next time your time comes make sure no one can leave you out.”
The former South African skipper added: “It’s very difficult in India as you guys have so much talent. And coach Rahul Dravid, and captain Rohit Sharma must have had picked their majority of guys anticipating the conditions in Australia.”
Rahul Tewatia should have been in team for Ireland: Sunil Gavaskar
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, though, believes that Tewatia should have been in the squad for the Ireland tour after his ice-cool batting performances for the Titans, winning them games in tight situations.
The left-hander scored 217 runs at a strike rate of 147; his most memorable knock from this year was when he clattered two sixes against Punjab Kings’ Odean Smith when 12 were needed off the last two balls.
“Rahul Tewatia should have been in team for Ireland. The one man who should have been in the team was Iceman Rahul Tewatia. He was superb in IPL. He batted cleverly throughout the tournament. Someone who shows that kind of temperament should have been in the team at least as 16th member of the team. At least his hard work should have been recognized,” Gavaskar said.
