Sunil Gavaskar on Rahane’s exclusion : Hairstyle and Body art preferred over form

Indian cricket team maintained their winning momentum on the Sri Lankan soil as they already sealed the five ODI series 4-0 with one match to go. But Gavaskar doesn't seem to be satisfied with the team selection process as he questioned why in-form players are not being picked in the squad. 

Rahane showed his fantastic form against the Windies as he scored 62, 103, 72, 60 and 39 in five One-day matches. The selection committee overlooked the 29-year-old's performances as he yet to get a game in the ongoing ODI series. Gavaskar praised the team for their sublime performance in the recent matches but also seemed to be angered by the Rahane’s lack of opportunities. 

"It didn't make much of a difference as Sharma got out next over so Rahul came in, but never looked settled and he once again failed to pick Dhananjaya's wrong one. It is understandable to keep the faith in a player but not at the expense of an in-form batsman who has done nothing wrong to be sitting out. The way the selections have gone for this series, it looks like all the nice guys are being left out and they are missing out on fattening their individual career aggregates with bat or ball. Maybe they should start getting a different hair style and some body art done too to get picked in the team, " Gavaskar wrote in a column for TOI.

"India had made changes on the expected lines with the unassuming trio of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kedar Jadhav, and Yazuvendra Chahal being left out of the side. Rahul got yet another chance while the top scorer of the just-concluded One-day series in the West Indies -Ajinkya Rahane -sat out once again. After the magnificent partnership between Rohit Sharma and skipper Kohli had been broken, it was expected that Rahul would come in to bat. He would have had time to settle down and get his eye in. Instead, it was Hardik Pandya who was sent in earlier," he added in his column.

Yesterday, BCCI confirmed that Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan would not be available for the fifth and final ODI as he returned home to attend his ailing mother. Now, Rahane will likely to feature in the last ODI which will be played at R Premadasa Stadium today.