Ruturaj Gaikwad: A strong believer in the process

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.

ruturaj gaikwad

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.

ruturaj gaikwad

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

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. 

MUST-READ- Rajat Patidar: A fast bowler who turned to a formidable batsman

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

About the author

Snehasish Pattanayak is an avid cricket follower. A student who is currently pursuing B.Tech , he first came across the game of cricket in 2007 when India won the inaugural T20 World Cup , since then there has been no looking back ."Cricket is my first love",says Snehasish.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *