Ruturaj Gaikwad has been drafted into India A’s 50-over side for the forthcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka after Riyan Parag was forced out with a hamstring strain.
Parag, who carried the niggle through the latter stages of the IPL, will now “undergo rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru,” the board confirmed on Friday. The 24-year-old all-rounder had originally been named vice-captain; that role passes straight to Gaikwad.
The timing is awkward for Parag. He managed to play Rajasthan Royals’ final three IPL matches despite the twinge, only for Royals to bow out to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. Speaking after that loss, he admitted the leg “never felt quite 100 per cent”, but he had hoped rest would do the trick. It has not.
Gaikwad arrives on the back of a mixed Indian summer. His first season in charge of Chennai Super Kings ended in an unfamiliar eighth-place finish, and he scored 337 runs at 28.08 with a strike-rate a shade over 123 – solid, though short of his own standards. One-day cricket, however, has treated him more kindly. He topped the charts in the three-match ODI series against South Africa last November, peeling off 210 runs and taking home the Player-of-the-Series award. He then reeled off 413 runs at 82.60 (strike-rate 115) in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Maharashtra. Those numbers made him the obvious standby.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer feels the move is logical. “Gaikwad’s list-A record is excellent, and the leadership experience at CSK won’t hurt either,” Jaffer told ESPN on Friday. “In a development side, that calm head is valuable.”
Tilak Varma remains captain. India A begin against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on 9 June, before facing Afghanistan A two days later. All matches are day-nighters.
India A squad: Tilak Varma (capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-capt), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan, Anukul Roy.
Parag will hope to rejoin the pathway later in the year, but for now the stage belongs to Gaikwad – another chance to turn white-ball promise into something firmer.
