Jaffer on making Gaikwad captain for IND A One-Day games: Patidar also deserves

Ruturaj Gaikwad in action for India A vs Sri Lanka A. (X/BCCI)India A will take on Australia A later this month. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named the captain for the One-Day format. Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer believes that Rajat Patidar also deserves captaincy. Patidar, who was made the skipper of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025, has delivered them back-to-back titles. In addition to Patidar, the other candidate Jaffer opted for is Ishan Kishan, who recently won the Duleep Trophy with the East Zone. Jaffer does believe Gaikwad got the captaincy because he is the senior. “As far as I know, Gaikwad is slightly senior. He has been playing for India A for a while. But it does make sense that Rajat Patidar also deserves captaincy. Even Ishan Kishan. He has been leading well. But you can hand it to anyone out of these three. I don’t think it is that big a matter. Yes, Patidar and Kishan have better credentials, but Gaikwad is slightly ahead in terms of seniority. I don’t think the players will mind,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel. In addition to giving his view on the A-tour, Jaffer delved deep into Gaikwad’s captaincy and suggested Sanju Samson could captain the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise. “It will be a tough call. Gaikwad’s batting form was not great. His captaincy was not that bad. There were issues with injuries and the availability of many players. His batting form was a concern. I think he needs to focus more on that than captaincy. Given how the T20 game is moving, he is currently not playing as per that template,” he said. “I feel Samson can become captain. The CSK management has to take that call. I don’t think it will be a bad call even if they remove Gaikwad from captaincy.