IPL STARS: FROM BEING UNKOWN TO KNOWN AROUND THE WHOLE WORLD
Born on 31 January 1997, Ruturaj Dashrat Gaikwad is a top-order batsman who represents Maharashtra in domestic cricket.
Rituraj Gaikwad was initially bought in by the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018/19 player auctions. Although, he got a chance to make his IPL debut in the 2020 season.
He had one of the unluckiest starts to his IPL career.
Even before the tournament began, Gaikwad had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. He went to admit it later that it was a tough phase.
Having played a fair amount of domestic cricket, Ruturaj knew he had to back himself.
When he finally got to play in the playing XI, he failed. He had scores of 0,5,0 in his first three games.
Ruturaj knew his failures came under tough circumstances and it was just a matter of time.
Rituraj’s Comeback
Gaikwad was doing well in the nets and he came back strong.
He got his next chance against Royal Challengers Bangalore (Match 44). He opened the batting with Faf Du Plessis and scored a fighting 65 which helped CSK win the game by 8 wickets.
Chennai’s second last game of the league stage was against Kolkata Knight Riders(Match 49).
They had to chase 173 runs and Gaikwad led it from the front. He registered a brilliant 72 off 53 balls to his name. CSK won the game by 6 wickets.
In their final group stage game, CSK faced Kings XI Punjab(Match 53). Chasing 154 to win, Ruturaj held the crease from one end.
He ended up scoring an unbeaten 62 to take his side home and CSK won the game by 9 wickets.
Chennai Super Kings ended up in 7th position on the points table but they had won their last three games. Surprisingly enough, Gaikwad has adjudged the man of the match in these three games.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Domestic career
Ruturaj also has a fine List-A record with an average of 47.87.
In 2019, he smashed an unbeaten 187* against a touring Sri Lanka A side. His further scores in the series were 125,84 and 74.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is a vital part of the India A side.
CONCLUSION
In the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), he has secured his opening position for CSK.
In 5 games, he has crossed the fifty mark once. The tournament is wide open and there is still a long way to go.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was handed over the captaincy for Maharashtra in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy.
His story teaches us that it just takes a matter of time for things to turn in our favor. To make things happen we have to believe in the process.
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