Why Is Ruturaj Not Playing In T20 World Cup 2024?

Gaikwad excluded from India's T20 WC squad [AP]Gaikwad excluded from India's T20 WC squad [AP]

The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 was announced on Tuesday. While the core of the squad remained the same from the last T20 World Cup, a couple of new faces were added, and also, a couple of controversial decisions were also taken by BCCI.

One of the decision, which raised eyebrows was the omission of CSK captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad. The right-handed batter is currently the second highest run-getter in IPL, just behind Virat Kohli, and has already racked up a century this season.

Known as Mr. consistent of IPL, Ruturaj's exclusion has been one of the main talking points ever-since the squad was announced. Some believe the CSK leader should be on the plane to USA and West Indies, considering he has performed exceedingly well in IPL.

Why Is Ruturaj Not Playing In T20 World Cup 2024?

However, the main reason why Ruturaj was excluded is because he has the same game template as Virat Kohli. He mirrors Kohli, in style and elegance, and India cannot afford two players with similar skillset. While Ruturaj has a strike-rate of 149.50 in this IPL season, Kohli has similar numbers - 147.49.

Also, the Maharashtra player is an opening batter, and India already has three openers - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Most likely Kohli will bat at number 3, which will leave Jaiswal to open alongside Rohit. So, there is no room for a fourth opener.

There is no other batting position, suitable for his style of play. Hence, selectors had to take the bold call of excluding Ruturaj from India's T20 World Cup squad.