"If You Don't Come From Mumbai, Delhi...": Ex-India Star's Blunt Take On Ruturaj Gaikwad Snub

India announced its squad for the upcoming three‑match ODI series against New Zealand, set to begin on January 11 in Vadodara. Shubman Gill has been retained as captain despite being left out of the T20 World Cup squad, while Shreyas Iyer returned to the side as Gill's deputy after recovering from the injury he sustained during the Australia series. However, the squad announcement came as a major shock for batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was excluded despite scoring a century in his last ODI appearance against South Africa.

Reacting to Gaikwad's omission, former India wicketkeeper-batter Robin Uthappa termed the decision "shocking" and advised the Chennai Super Kings skipper to continue focusing on his hard work.

"Buddy, it's very hard to process. You have to make it make sense, right? It takes a toll, and you need to almost find silver linings to lean back on. In these circumstances, it's not the easiest thing to do. It's hectic, and you've got to find a way to see the positives," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

"One of the challenges with Indian cricket is that you're constantly operating in survival mode. To switch from that mindset takes an immense amount of resilience, self-talk and positive reinforcement. You have to be someone who looks for silver linings," he added.

Uthappa further stated that players often have to struggle harder to cement their place in the Indian team if they are not from major cricketing centres such as Mumbai, Delhi or Punjab.

"You have to keep fighting, especially if you don't come from one of the three big states in India - Mumbai, Delhi or Punjab. If you're not from one of those states, you have to keep pushing yourself," said Uthappa.

Notably, Gaikwad made his ODI debut in 2022 and has played nine matches so far. He has scored 228 runs at an average of 28.50, including one century and a half-century.

India's ODI squad for the New Zealand series: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer (vc; subject to fitness clearance), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Ruturaj Gaikwad Robin Uthappa India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket