Ruturaj Gaikwad not 'worried' about slow start to IPL 2024

Ruturaj Gaikwad has opened up on the captaincy and whether it is affecting his performance. However, Chennai Super Kings won over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday, April 8 at Chepauk where Ruturaj scored an unbeaten 67, also his first half-century of the season.

“There are certain things where the outside people don’t really get to know,” Gaikwad said. “Last year, three-four games that we started, it was in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Mumbai and again Chennai. All those games were on flat wickets. So I feel the pitch really matters a lot. First game [of IPL 2024] I thought I got a good start, got a good ball. Second game, same. I think I got a good start, had to accelerate a little bit [and] you tend to make a mistake there. And third game again, I felt I was in great shape, the second ball did not really do anything.”

For Ruturaj Gaikwad, captaincy is not new

“Sometimes there are phases where you get good balls. Sometimes there are phases where you are slightly unlucky. Sometimes there are phases where things don’t really fall in shape. [A] good shot, going into the fielder’s hands. So you don’t really need to think about that. I always felt I was in good shape, starting really well, good head space, so I wasn’t really worried,” he again shared.

However, Ruturaj Gaikwad also added that batting as a captain is not new to him. He felt that “nothing really changes” in his approach whether he is captain or not as well.

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“And captaincy while batting is a totally different approach. Even when I was playing my first game, or the first fifty I scored for CSK, I think a similar kind of situation; we were chasing 140 and I always wanted to stay till the end and make sure I finish the innings… so pretty much the same. Nothing really changes even if I am captain or not.”

“I don’t want to be a specific kind of character,” he said. “Just like to flow things as they’re flowing… keep the culture of the CSK basically going. That’s what I feel. The success we’ve had, the things we have been doing, I don’t want to change a single bit of it. I just want to come there, take my own decisions and just give as much freedom as possible because that’s what has been happening since I joined CSK. Nothing really changes and I’m enjoying myself.”

Ruturaj Gaikwad opens up on CSK captaincy

However, a lot has been spoken about how Ruturaj Gaikwad got to know that he will be leading CSK but he revealed a little more about this as well.

“To be honest, not really deep conversations, I feel [around captaincy with Dhoni]. It was in a very chilled state. Just one conversation I would say. We were practising and he came and told me all this stuff. Obviously for everyone, others on the outside, they would think they are big shoes to fill but I feel I would always be myself and I would like to continue the culture that has been going,” he added.

“I remember in 2022 when he said to me, probably not next year, but after that you might get a chance to lead, so be ready for it. So obviously after that I was always ready for it. It was nothing new to me or a surprise or a shock. I know how to control the game. I know how the game progresses, which [bowling] changes, what to do when, as I was doing for the state team as well. Even last year, Fleming and I used to discuss captaincy after every game, about how I felt, what changes, bowling changes, what I felt we needed to do, this and that. Every game we had one-on-one conversations so that really helped.”