"Totally illogical" - Fans divided over Ruturaj Gaikwad's inclusion in playing XI for IND vs AUS 1st ODI

Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has returned to India's ODI team as he made it to the playing XI for the series opener against Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Friday, September 22.

Ruturaj is part of India's squad for the first two ODIs of the three-match series against Australia, as the team management rested the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav for the first couple of games.

He won't feature in the third and final encounter. The right-handed batter's addition to the playing XI will help him get into the groove for the upcoming Asian Games 2023, where he will lead the Indian team.

Several fans took to social media to share their excitement over Ruturaj's inclusion. However, certain Team India supporters opined that Ishan Kishan should have been the opener, given that he is likely to be the backup opener in the ICC World Cup 2023.

Here are some of the best reactions:

Ruturaj Gaikwad has featured in just two ODIs so far and has 27 runs to his name. Batting at No. 3, he scored eight runs in his most recent ODI appearance against West Indies last month.

However, the 26-year-old has a brilliant record in List A cricket, having chalked up 4042 runs in 72 innings at an average of 60.32.

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India elect to field first in 1st ODI vs Australia

Team India captain KL Rahul won the toss and chose to field first in the first ODI against Australia. Explaining his decision, he pointed out how chasing teams have had an advantage at Mohali in the past.

Rahul said at the toss:

"We’ll bowl first. Historically a good chasing ground, that’s about it. There are a few boxes that we need to tick and the boxes that we’ve ticked we need to keep doing it better. One more challenge, best team in the world so good to play against them. They are a very competitive team so we’ve enjoyed playing against them. It's always a great challenge."

India's XI: Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w/c), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

Australia's XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Pat Cummins(c), Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa