Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a century for India A [Source: X and Screengrab]Ruturaj Gaikwad marked his return to the India A side with a scintillating century against Sri Lanka A in the Tri-series opener on June 9, 2026. Thus, he delivered a powerful response to his recent exclusion from the senior Indian ODI squad for the Afghanistan series on home soil. The right-hander held the innings together with a composed 101-run knock off 114 balls, rescuing India A from a shaky 69 for 3 and powering them to a competitive 277 for 6 in 50 overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad proves his mettle yet againRuturaj Gaikwad walked in to bat when India A were in deep trouble. The team had lost both openers, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh, with just 16 runs on the board. Gaikwad responded with an innings of patience, class, and quiet defiance. He stitched together a 150-run partnership with captain Tilak Varma for the fourth wicket. His knock featured six boundaries and three sixes, and he reached his hundred before finally falling to Wanuja Sahan in the 44th over.Gaikwad’s name had been conspicuously missing from the Indian squad that toured Sri Lanka and later played white-ball series against South Africa and New Zealand. Despite leading India to an Asian Games gold medal and scoring a fluent 105 against South Africa in his last ODI outing, the BCCI selection committee overlooked him for the upcoming series against Afghanistan.Also Read- Ruturaj Gaikwad Makes BCCI Regret After India vs Afghanistan Series SnubIn fact, when Virat Kohli was ruled out of the ODI series due to a hamstring injury, the BCCI selection committee picked opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal as his replacement, ignoring Gaikwad, who is more versatile than the southpaw. A modest IPL 2026 season, 337 runs at an average of 28.08, had perhaps given the selectors a reason to look elsewhere. But the India A assignment offered Gaikwad the perfect stage to remind everyone of his quality in the 50-over format.Gaikwad Anchors India A’s Recovery On a day when the young prodigy Sooryavanshi failed to fire, Gaikwad displayed the maturity that comes with over 150 international appearances across formats for India. He rotated the strike beautifully, respected the good deliveries, and punished the loose ones. The partnership with Tilak Varma, who made a gritty 60, took the game away from Sri Lanka A. Even after Gaikwad’s departure, Ayush Badoni and Suryansh Shedge added quick runs to push the total of 277. Internet Erupts in Support of Ruturaj GaikwadFans and former cricketers flooded social media with messages of support for Gaikwad, many calling out the BCCI selection committee for ignoring a proven performer as a replacement for Virat Kohli in the ODI squad against Afghanistan instead of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Let’s take a look at how the internet reacted: Rajiv @Rajiv1841 Another match, another 100 for Ruturaj Gaikwad. Another day, he is reminding why this format belongs to him. & everyone must have not forgotten his extraordinary partnership with Virat Kohli where Rutu scored 100 off just 77 balls while batting at 4. I hope Agarkar gets over his Jun 9, 2026, 1:17 PM David @David315851 Ruturaj Gaikwad is one of the biggest victim of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar favouritism.💔 Jun 9, 2026, 1:40 PM Wade @Crick_buttowski 🚨Sanjay manjrekar said 🚨 : if ruturaj gaikwad was playing for a team like GT or MI he would have been a permanent member of india team ( laughs ) Bro cooked gambhir and shubman gill's favouritism towards GT players 😭😭😭 Jun 9, 2026, 1:24 PM RACER NO.03🦁🇧🇷 @njr_0307 Ruturaj Gaikwad delivered a century 💯🔥 A true tough-track bully 💥💪🏻 🏏 21st List A century 📈 Highest average-59.32 @BCCI @imAagarkar, are you watching this? 👀 Jun 9, 2026, 1:50 PM Chirag Wakaskar (चिराग वाकसकर) @chiragwakaskar @BCCI Gaikwad has a lot to offer for team India. Tapas. @Crick_wiFi @BCCI Ruturaj Gaikwad was needed as a replacement for Virat Kohli in the Afghanistan ODI series. Ruturaj has scored 21 centuries and 19 half-centuries in List A cricket. Kunal Bishwal 💙❤️ @KunalBishwal07 @BCCI In this picture you have the current and future best no.3 player for ODI RUTURAJ GAIKWAD is a must in 2027 WC Jun 9, 2026, 1:47 PM Shaurya Singh @shaurya22414 RUTURAJ GAIKWAD SCORES A HUNDRED WHEN INDIA A WAS 14/2 VAIBHAV , PRABH , TILAK ALL STRUGGLED ON THIS TOUGH PITCH , THE TOUGH TRACK BULLY SCORED A TON ON THIS PITCH . MY GUY HAS 21 HUNDREDS WITH 59+ AVG IN LIST A CAREER 💙💙 #INDvsSL #INDAvsSLA Jun 9, 2026, 1:45 PM Jason @mahixcavi7 He scored so many runs specially in ODI formats, now it's all upto BCCI and Coach Gambhir. Ruturaj Gaikwad did his job ! He is perfect for No.3, and he should be in squad for World Cup 2027. 👏🔥 Jun 9, 2026, 1:28 PM Haydos🛡️ @GovindIstOdraza Ruturaj Gaikwad as soon as he realised it's India A match Jun 9, 2026, 1:50 PM Gaikwad Ready To Prove His Point for IndiaGaikwad’s century will not erase the disappointment of the repeated snubs, but it does reassert his credentials as a top-order stalwart. With the Tri-series still in its early stages and more matches against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A to come, he has every chance to pile on the runs and make his case impossible to ignore again. For a player who has often been the quiet accumulator while others grabbed headlines, this century was a loud and clear message, one that he would like to repeat against Afghanistan A too on June 11.Also Read- Not Sachin Tendulkar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets New Comparison
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