'Nothing More He Needs to Prove:' Former Cricketer Urges Long Run For India Batter After 2nd IND vs SA ODI

South Africa secured a win against India in the 2nd Ind vs SA ODI on December 3, 2025, thus leveling 1-1 in the three-part ODI series. Despite the loss, some of the most talked-about moments from the match included Virat Kohli's 53rd ODI century and Ruturaj Gaikwad's maiden ODI ton.

Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, in his YouTube video, shared that despite the defeat, there were some positives to take from the match, one of them being Ruturaj Gaikwad. The former player shared that even with the return of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, it should be the management's responsibility to accommodate someone like Gaikwad.

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Ashwin Urges Team India To Accommodate Gaikwad

Ashwin insisted that players like Ruturaj Gaikwad should not be left out of ODIs with the return of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. He also commented that the player does not have anything left to prove to bat as number 4.

Ashwin praised, "He handles seamers well. He has a slight weakness against the moving ball, and he won’t need to face that much if he’s batting at No. 4. He is a terrific player of spin and runs hard between the wickets. He has all the shots in the book. There is nothing more he needs to prove to bat at No. 4."

He further added, "Tomorrow, even if Shreyas Iyer returns, you can still accommodate Ruturaj Gaikwad. I don’t know exactly how, but I’ve thought of many innovative ideas. Do you push Ruturaj up the order? I’m not sure. For a player of such pedigree, he deserves a long run."

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Ruturaj Gaikwad Against South Africa In Ind vs SA 2nd ODI

The player anchored India's innings from the middle order and reached his fifties off 52 balls. Gaikwad registered his first ODI ton off 77 balls before being dismissed by Marco Jansen for 105 runs off 83 deliveries. Notably, he stitched an important 195-run partnership with Virat Kohli, who achieved his 53rd ODI ton in the match.