India, Jan. 4 -- Ruturaj Gaikwad's struggles when he first reached the Indian team are well-known. Given his debut in October 2022, he would play intermittently as India's backup opener, but a string of low scores meant he would be discarded from the plans soon after - 19, 8, 71, 8, 5, and 4 in his six matches, a miserable average of under 20.

After putting in the hours in domestic cricket and for India A, Gaikwad earned his chance again as Shreyas Iyer's injury replacement for the ODIs against South Africa late in 2025. He had a quiet outing in the first match, dismissed by a Dewald Brevis wonder-catch at point, but this time, he made his chance count: 105 in Raipur, his maiden ODI century, delivering on his quality while asked to bat l...