Ruturaj Gaikwad recalls skipper MS Dhoni’s advice

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ruturaj Gaikwad shared an interesting tale on what skipper MS Dhoni told him on his debut for the IPL franchise.

The Pune-born cricketer was roped in by CSK for INR 2 million at the player auction back in 2019. Gaikwad did not particularly relish a great first season but was in top form for the franchise in the subsequent editions.

In 2022, CSK decided to retain the player by spending a whooping INR six crore following a sensational season in 2021 as he scored a total of 635 runs in his 16 outings. Over the years, the right hander has flourished under the leadership of MS Dhoni who has been vital in grooming Gaikwad.

Gaikwad reveals what Dhoni had advised on his debut

Gaikwad met with students of the Super Kings academy in Chennai where he shared the piece of advice he had received from skipper MS Dhoni on his IPL debut.

“When I made my debut, he (MS Dhoni) was very clear. He said to enjoy the game. Representing this franchise is a huge achievement, a lot of great players have been part of this dressing room, and a lot of greats have been involved with this franchise. So, I think he just said that ‘You just need to be in that moment and enjoy it’,” said Gaikwad.

Moreover, the right-handed batter also shared how he played in the middle-order in his early days and got out for a golden duck on his debut. However, when ‘Captain Cool’ decides to take a player under his wings, it boosts the morale of the player tremendously.

“I really need to be thankful and grateful that I was in a really good team which has a very good environment. Also, having MS Dhoni around me helped a lot as well. In that process, I never felt that I was having a setback. If I look back now, yes, I had failures to start off with, but the management, the team and the coach made me feel (good). I would give a lot of credit to the whole CSK team, the captain and coach,” Gaikwad mentioned.