‘Every player is in contention’: Vengsarkar's blunt response to Jaffer ‘how did Ruturaj jump the queue?’ query

Ruturaj Gaikwad has played for India in limited-over format but is yet to consolidate his name in the squad, despite having a T20I half-century under his name.

India's team selection for the upcoming West Indies series, especially for the longer format, has garnered plenty of reactions for a number of reasons. The first being the snub of Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, who failed to retain his spot after a disappointing World Test Championship (WTC) final. The second was the reappointment of Ajinkya Rahane as the team's vice-captain, who made a comeback to the squad in the WTC final after a hiatus of 16 months.

Dilip Vengsarkar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Wasim Jaffer

The third, which drew plenty of flak was overlooking consistent performers in Ranji Trophy and domestic circuit, which include Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Both the players have proved their mettle in the domestic format but are yet to awarded with their first India cap.

Instead Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a stunning outing in the latest edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), have been given a chance.

While many have slammed the selectors for the same, former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar feels it depends on the players as pressure is equal irrespective of the format. He urged the critics to wait and observe how Gaikwad performs in the longer format, while dismissing the talks of the Punekar jumping the queue ahead of Sarfaraz or Easwaran.

The term queue was also mentioned by former Test player Wasim Jaffer, who in a series of tweet, had expressed his displeasure over the selection. Out of his three tweets, one stated: “Easwaran and Panchal have also been doing hard yards in Ranji and India A, knocking on Test doors for a long time. Just because they don't play IPL, is it a case of out of sight out of mind? How did Ruturaj jump the queue?”

Speaking on the lines, if Gaikwad's selection was based on merit, Vengsarkar in an interaction with the The Indian Express noted: “Red ball or white-ball doesn’t matter. It is all the same.”

“A good player will adjust to all formats. The thing we have to wait to see is how he performs in Test cricket. And I don’t understand this queue. Every player is in contention,” the ex-cricketer added.

Gaikwad has played for India in limited-over format but is yet to consolidate his name in the squad, despite having a T20I half-century under his name.

Jaiswal, on the other hand, is yet to make his maiden appearance for India in any format.