Suryakumar Yadav's Blunt Reply When Asked About CSK Star's Absence From India's T20I Team

Suryakumar Yadav explained the logic behind Ruturaj Gaikwad's absence from India's T20I squad against South Africa.

As India's T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav addressed the media in a pre-match press conference, ahead of the first T20I against South Africa on Thursday, he had to answer some tricky questions. One such question was on the absence of Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad from India's T20I side. Over the last year or so, Gaikwad has emerged as one of the finest batters across all formats. Be it red-ball or white-ball cricket, Gaikwad's performances in India's domestic spectrum have impressed one and all. Yet, he continues to be on the sidelines when it comes to national selection.

Suryakumar, when asked about Gaikwad's absence from the team, highlighted the fact that there remain a lot of young and talented players who deserve national selection. But, the team management's process, has to be respected and followed when it comes to giving those deserving players opportunitites.

"Rutu (Ruturaj) is a fantastic player. He has been performing consistently across all formats, wherever he plays. There are a lot of players who have been performing well even before him, so there is a routine or process that I think that the management has come up with, so it is important to follow that," the Indian captain commented.

"He is young and is doing well. I feel, uska bhi number aayega. Uska bhi time aayega. (His time will also come)," said Suryakumar.

Gaikwad featured for India in the T20I series against Zimbabwe this year, scoring 133 runs at an average of 66.50 and a strike-rate of 158.33.