Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 26 -- The upcoming ODIs against West Indies could very well be a crucial point in determining the trajectory of Ruturaj Gaikwad's international career leading upto ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.

The first ODI against WI will take place at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Ruturaj has made his return to the team as a middle-order option in the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who is away in Japan with eyes set on Asian Games men's cricket gold in T20I format as a captain.

The IPL 2021 Orange Cap winner with 635 runs has seen only a few ODI opportunities in his career so far, despite being an exceptional force in List A cricket.

In nine ODIs and eight innings, Ruturaj has scored 228 runs at an average of 28.50, with a strike r...