"I will try to be myself"- Indian captain Ruturaj Gaikwad doesn't want to emulate MS Dhoni's captaincy style in Asian Games 2022
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as India's captain for the men's cricket event in the ongoing Asian Games 2022. He has spent a lot of time with the legendary MS Dhoni at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and it is natural to feel that he will want to lead the team like Dhoni.
However, while Gaikwad did acknowledge some of the qualities of leadership that he has learnt from Dhoni, he still wants to apply his own way of captaincy in the Asian Games.
Here's what Ruturaj Gaikwad told the media about MS Dhoni:
"I got to learn a lot of things from him (Dhoni) but every person has a different style. His style is different, his personality is different and my personality is a bit different. I will try to be myself, and not really look at what he usually does."
He further added:
"Obviously, yes you have to pick out some things that he does really well, how he handles situations and how he handles particular players during a match. I just want the players to express themselves and give how much ever freedom that I can."
Participating in Asian Games a matter of pride: India coach VVS Laxman
Former legendary Indian batter VVS Laxman has been named the coach of the men's cricket team and he shared his thoughts on the feeling among players in representing the country for the first time in this particular event.
On this, Laxman stated:
"Participating in the Asian Games is a big opportunity and a matter of great pride for all these players. I am really looking forward to this tournament. Gaikwad said the players are eager to win the gold medal like their women counterparts."
Laxman also spoke about the learnings that the team had about their fellow Indian athletes from different sports when they visited the Games' village and added:
"Coming here and going to the village, we really got to know about the athletes — what kinds of struggle they go through. We took a lot of pride from yesterday’s visit and obviously got to know how special it is — obviously, we do know but it just reflected a little bit more to represent the country."
India have directly qualified for the quarterfinal which will be played on Tuesday, October 3, at 6.30am IST.