My aim is to get a win for the Indian team, says Ruturaj Gaikwad
India is all set to field two teams at the same time. While the main Indian squad has travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) to participate in the final of the World Test Championship, another India team will tour Sri Lanka for three T20 Internationals and three One Day Internationals.
The ODI series gets underway from 13th July onwards, with the next two fixtures scheduled on July 16 and 18. The three T20Is will be played on July 21, 23, and 25 respectively. On Thursday, June 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced a 20-member squad for the India tour of Sri Lanka.
While Shikhar Dhawan has been named as the skipper, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been picked as his deputy. As many as five players including the likes of Opening batters Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, pacer Chetan Sakariya, and spinner K Gowtham have received their maiden call-ups to the Indian team.
After receiving the maiden call, Chennai Super Kings’ opening batter Ruturaj said that though the opportunities will be limited, he is looking forward to learning and gaining some valuable experience. During the Sri Lanka tour, India will be coached by Rahul Dravid as the head coach Ravi Shastri has travelled with the Test squad to the United Kingdom (UK).
Gaikwad claimed that the most exciting part about the tour is reconnecting with Dravid. Notably, the youngster shares a close bond with the former Indian skipper as Dravid coached them during the U19 days. “The opportunities would be limited but I’m just looking forward to learning from this journey as much as I can. There are experienced players in the group and obviously, once again I will get a chance to reconnect with Rahul Sir,” he said.
“The last India A tour happened one and half years ago, so again, there is a chance to regroup with him (Rahul Dravid) have a chat about the game, so there is lot more than just performance or scorecard. Obviously, if I get an opportunity, just hoping that I can give my best and wish to win a game for India. One of my biggest goals is to get a win for the Indian team or my country,” Ruturaj Gaikwad added.
During Indian Premier League, Ruturaj shares the dressing room with the likes of MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis and others. He asserted that he doesn’t talk much with the CSK skipper and revealed the reason behind it.
“I think with Mahi Bhai, obviously whatever he speaks it is always eye-catching and I had heard that he spoke about me in the post-match presentation and all, I don’t talk much with him, he knows that I’m a quiet and shy guy,” he said as quoted by Cricket Next.
