Ruturaj Gaikwad and a chance to propel his stop-start international career
Ruturaj Gaikwad has had a strange career so far. Before COVID-19 became a thing, he was a prolific run-scorer for India A and was earmarked as the next batting sensation from the country.
Months after the pandemic subsided and when the IPL found some way to squeeze itself into the calendar, he was struck down by the virus, missing a good preparatory chunk for the Chennai Super Kings prior to IPL 2020.
When he was drafted into the side, a string of low scores followed. MS Dhoni made that famous “spark” comment which may not have been directed at Gaikwad, although the narrative became that of why there was so much hype around the right-handed batter.
Towards the end of that campaign, he roared into form, scoring three consecutive fifties. A year later, he began similarly sluggishly but ended the season as the leading run-getter, becoming the first batter since Robin Uthappa to win the Orange Cap and the IPL trophy in the same year.
2022 was a bit of a lull but 2023 showcased Gaikwad in his pomp. He stroked the ball beautifully, stood tall on tough surfaces, rose to the biggest of occasions, and helped CSK win their fifth IPL title.
Long story short. Gaikwad has had two superb IPL seasons (out of the last three) and has made his team triumph both times. His List A average (60.32), as things stand, is better than anyone who has ever played 50 innings in the format. So, you would expect him to have featured more often for India, right?
That has hardly been the case. He has made nine T20I appearances but apart from five games in succession against South Africa last year, those have been intermittent. Gaikwad has also played just two ODIs – batting out of position both times, despite having a greater List A pedigree (and numbers) than anyone else on the squad.
There has been the odd sparkling T20I innings, like the one against South Africa at Vishakhapatnam in June 2022 but that has very much been an anomaly. His career, thus, has been the epitome of a stop-start journey.
Now, though, that could be about to change. Of course, it is up to Gaikwad to perform and stake a claim but the stars could not have aligned for him any better.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead India at the Asian Games
India have named an experimental T20I squad to face Ireland, which will be led by Jasprit Bumrah. Gaikwad, who will captain India at the Asian Games in a few weeks’ time, is Bumrah’s understudy. So, game time should not be a problem - both in Ireland and at the Asian Games.
Gaikwad, thus, can have the sort of freedom he has at CSK, where he knows that he will be backed by his team, rather than just being used as a stop-gap solution, which most other skippers have been guilty of in national colors.
That is particularly pertinent because of the trajectory his career has taken, especially in the IPL. There was a time in his debut campaign when he looked totally out of sorts.
Cut to now, and a CSK side seems unimaginable without the opener, and most of it is because of the ease with which he has scored runs and the level head he has shown under pressure. In fact, whenever Dhoni does hang up his boots, Gaikwad could even take over the reins at CSK – that is how highly regarded he is in Chennai.
The other bit is that Gaikwad has seemingly bought into the aggressive approach India want to preach moving forward. In IPL 2023, he was often the batter taking risks in the powerplay – something totally opposite to what he did when he had Faf du Plessis at the other end for CSK.
Back in June 2022, when he was opening alongside Ishan Kishan, the onus to attack the powerplay, on more than one occasion, fell on Gaikwad. He tried to do so, getting off to a flier in the first T20I and then playing a blinder at Vishakhapatnam.
At that stage, however, that was not his natural game. Now, after an IPL season where he has thrown caution to the wind inside the powerplay, he might feel more at home replicating those pyrotechnics for India.
If he wants to take more time, like when he did earlier in his career, he has Yashasvi Jaiswal alongside him, who anyway tries to attack the powerplay.
The most important element, though, is that Gaikwad is now 26, and he knows that time is running out for him. Shubman Gill and Jaiswal have proved they can be all-format behemoths for India. Kishan is also not going away anytime soon.
So, as melodramatic as this might sound, this is it for Gaikwad. A strong display over the next month or so, where he has also been entrusted with responsibility, will not just highlight that he can score runs at the highest level, it will also reveal a lot about his character.
Those in the CSK landscape and ardent fans of the franchise have been seeing those shades for the past few years. And they have not returned disappointed.
You can, thus, understand the amazement at the discrepancy between his domestic and international numbers. Whenever Gaikwad is on song, he looks like one of the most gifted stroke-makers India have produced in the last decade. That is not an exaggeration either.
The talent is there. It is all about making it tick. Over the next month or so, he will have the backing of the team (hopefully), and that sort of security usually brings the best out of him.
It feels strange that he, at 26 years of age, and despite how breathtaking his stroke play is, is still not assured of a permanent spot. But Gaikwad’s career has been strange. And cricket being this strange, old game, has given him an unprecedented chance to propel what has been a stop-start international career.
Of course, there is no guarantee it will happen. But if it is to happen, it needs to happen now.