India’s star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has hailed the impact of former captain MS Dhoni in understanding the T20I format after showcasing another impactful innings on Friday (Dec 1) against Australia. Gaikwad has been in great form in the five-match T20I series that has seen him score 213 runs while also scoring a hundred in Guwahati in the third T20I. However, he has credited Dhoni for the temperament he has in the format having spent time together at the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Gaikwad credits Dhoni
"No, definitely. I would say I learned being in CSK because, you know, Mahi bhai is always keen on reading situations, you know, understanding the game, how the game will progress. And he more or less sends a message where you have to look for a team score."
"You know what the team requires at that certain stage, irrespective of where you are batting, Either you are batting on 15 or not out or you just started, what the team requires just in particular that over. So I think that has stayed with me. And I'm trying to continue that," said Ruturaj.
The duo of Gaikwad and Dhoni will be reunited in the 2024 IPL season when they don the CSK colours. Dhoni was on the retention list of CSK after the recently concluded IPL trade window while Gaikwad has been an integral part of both India’s T20I squad and the five-time champions. In September he led India to the Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou but was unfortunate to have missed out on a berth in the ODI World Cup.
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Courtesy of his great form, Rurutaj has been included in the Test format for the South Africa tour which starts in the second week of December. He is already part of the ODI and T20I setup as India look to build for the future. He is one of the first names in the T20I side as they build for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.
Having won the five-match T20I series 3-1 before the last game in Bengaluru, India and Gaikwad will look to finish on a strong note. The two nations meet again on Sunday (Dec 3) with the match starting at 7:00 pm at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.