'Look who Gaikwad's competing with. Dhawan, Rohit, Gill, Pant': Ashwin

Ruturaj Gaikwad and his stunning run in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy has been the talk of Indian cricket. He amassed a colossal 660 runs in just five games at a monumental average of 220. The run tally comprised four centuries, including the unbeaten 220 against Uttar Pradesh where Gaikwad had smashed seven sixes in one over to script world record. Despite the sensational run, veteran India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out a harsh reality pertaining to Gaikwad's chances in the Indian team.

Gaikwad is primarily an opener. While his stunning run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy makes a strong case for his India call-up once again, Ashwin highlighted the players who the youngster is looking to compete to get a chance in the squad, let alone the XI.

“Since he is from India, whom will he replace? Not even replace but look at whom he is competing with. Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and we have Rishabh Pant opening as well," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

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“India is becoming a difficult country to genuinely play cricket. I mean, competition for one spot is heating up. And Ruturaj is not heating it up; he has taken the solar panel on his head and scored runs for fun. Amazing, very well done, Ruturaj Gaikwad.”

“I am sure all the CSK fans are super happy. It will be a matter of time before Ruturaj Gaikwad sets the world stage on fire.”

Not just in Vijay Hazare Trophy, Gaikwad performed well in Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament as well where he scored 295 runs in six games. Talking about the impending ODI series against Bangladesh, India have picked Rohit, Dhawan, KL Rahul as the openers along with back-ups in Pant and Ishan Kishan.

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