Agarkar's master plan behind Ruturaj Gaikwad's Bangladesh snub revealed as Yashasvi Jaiswal emerges as new competitor: Report

There is a sense of disappointment among Ruturaj Gaikwad's fans and some experts, as he has been left out of both the Test and T20I series against Bangladesh at home, despite his impressive performances in both formats. However, it appears that the chief selector of the Indian cricket team, Ajit Agarkar, has a strategic plan in place for Gaikwad.

The Chennai Super Kings captain first earned a Test call-up twice in his career so far, for the tour of West Indies and South Africa last year, but failed to bag an appearance. Not to forget, he was also on the standby list for the World Test Championship final last year, before being replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal owing to his withdrawal from the squad citing personal reasons.

Following an impressive show in the recent Duleep Trophy tournament, where he led the India C team, Gaikwad was expected to be recalled for the Test and T20I series against Bangladesh, but was ignored on both occasions, leaving fans on social media enraged.

According to a report in the Times of India on Tuesday, Agarkar and his committee, along with the team management, comprising head coach Gautam Gambhir, want Gaikwad as the third opener in the five-match Test series against Australia later this year.

It was for this reason why selectors did not want Gaikwad to play the in the T20I format and rather wanted him to keep his focus on red-ball cricket with the Irani Cup starting Tuesday in Lucknow, where he is leading the Rest of India side against Mumbai.

"There has been a lot of hue and cry after Gaikwad wasn't picked for the T20Is against Bangladesh despite regular T20I openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill being rested. The selectors and team management want him as the third opener in Australia. You need a third opener there as injuries could take place during a long five-Test series. There aren't too many good candidates for the third openers' slot than Gaikwad. He needs to keep playing red-ball matches. This is why he has been asked to lead ROI in the Irani Cup," a reliable source told TOI.

This could also mean Gaikwad could be given a chance in the upcoming Test series at home against New Zealand last this month, with India wanting to have a better look at the star batter in the international format against a proven bowling attack. And that could mean India might rest Jaiswal in one of the matches against the Blackcaps.