Not Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma; This CSK Batsman has Best Average in List A Cricket

India A are locking horns against South Africa A in the ongoing unofficial ODI series. So far, the home team has dominated the Proteas, winning the first two games quite comfortably. India's batting and bowling looked balanced, and the fielding has been outstanding too.

In the first match, India chased down 290 runs, and in the second, they chased 135 runs. While the first match was thrilling and exciting, the second match appeared to be one-sided. However, one thing that was common in both games was Ruturaj Gaikwad, the vice-captain of India A. Apart from scoring a century and a half-century, he also etched his name in the book of records.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Creates New Record in List A Cricket

The vice-captain of India A, Ruturaj Gaikwad, has created history today. Currently, Gaikwad has become the Indian batter with the best List A batting average and has gone past Cheteshwar Pujara. Before the start of the series, his average was 56.93, and now, it is 57.80. He has surpassed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two of the best batsmen in the world.

Interestingly, Gaikwad is only behind Australia's legendary cricketer Michael Bevan, whose career average in List A is 57.86. In the Indian set-up, Pujara is in the second spot with a 57.01 average, and Virat Kohli is at the third spot with a 56.66. Moreover, the series has been going well for Gaikwad as he slammed a century in the first match and helped India get past the winning line. His 117 runs were quite crucial as it helped India seal the series. In the second game, he scored an unbeaten 68 off 83 balls as India chased down 133 in 27.5 overs.

Moreover, Gaikwad also won two back-to-back Player of the Match Awards, which is quite outstanding. He is one of the best batsmen in India and would have caught the eyes of the selectors with his performances. Following the Test series against South Africa, India will play an ODI series, and Gaikwad has stakes a claim on the spot.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's List A Career

Ruturaj Gaikwad is a huge name in domestic cricket. For years, he has performed brilliantly in several matches, contributing significantly to his team's victories. He started his List A career for Maharashtra by smashing a century back in 2016-17 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Since then, he has played 85 matches and scored 4509 runs, including 18 half-centuries and 17 centuries.

He is one of those batters who has performed consistently in domestic cricket. Moreover, he has also captained Maharashtra in several tournaments. Gaikwad has been quite an important player in the Indian domestic set-up. However, the opportunities given to him in the national side have been comparatively fewer.

Despite being a consistent run-scorer in domestic cricket, he has been sidelined in both ODIs and T20Is, mainly due to the competition in the Indian team. Nevertheless, these recent performances are inevitable, and it will be interesting to see the selectors' reaction to them while announcing the ODI squad.