“I am ahead of the trend” - Ruturaj Gaikwad’s hilarious ‘Thala for a reason’ meme after IND vs ZIM 3rd T20I
Team India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad came up with a hilarious 'Thala for a reason' meme for MS Dhoni after the third T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday, July 10. The former Chennai Super Kings skipper is famously known as 'Thala' in the southern part of India, which translates to leader or chief.
Ruturaj and Dhoni share a close bond as they have been teammates in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2019. The former made his debut under Dhoni and took over CSK's leadership baton from the legendary wicketkeeper ahead of IPL 2024.
Ruturaj Gaikwad recently took to Instagram to join the 'Thala for a reason' meme bandwagon and claimed he was ahead of the trend. Sharing a picture of his Team India cap, Ruturaj made a connection with MS Dhoni.
"I am ahead of the trend," he captioned the picture.
The post from Ruturaj Gaikwad has gone viral on social media and has been shared multiple times across all platforms.
Gaikwad is currently in Zimbabwe with the Indian contingent. He has played all three games and is currently the highest run-scorer of the series with 133 runs at an average of 66.50.
After a defeat in the first game, the Men in Blue have bounced back exceptionally well to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Shubman Gill and company will look to continue their winning run and seal the series with one game to go.
"Try to fill in his shoes is relatively very tough" - Ruturaj Gaikwad on comparisons with Virat Kohli
With Virat Kohli stepping aside from the shortest format of the game, Ruturaj Gaikwad is touted to take the No. 3 slot. The right-handed batter is not focused on the comparisons with Kohli and wants to make contributions with the bat regardless of the batting position.
“This is a big topic and I think it’s not the right point to think about it. To even compare with him (Kohli) or try to fill in his shoes is relatively very tough and very hard,” Gaikwad told reporters ahead of the third T20I against Zimbabwe.
“As I had said in the IPL as well, it is difficult to fill my best shoes as well. Definitely, you want to start your career, you want to start the way you want, you want to play your own game. So that’s the priority right now," he added.
Gaikwad will be seen in action again during the fourth T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday, July 13.