Hyderabad: The newly appointed Chennai Super Kings skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s father, Dashrath, asserted that he was sure about the right-hand batter becoming the captain of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
A day before the commencement of the IPL 2024, CSK appointed Ruturaj as the skipper after their former skipper MS Dhoni’s recommendation on Thursday.
Speaking to ETV Bharat over the phone, Dashrath said, “We were sure about his appointment as CSK captain and didn’t know when that moment would come. However, we did not expect that he would get this opportunity so soon and hence it was like a surprise for us."
According to Dashrath, who will be at the M A Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, along with Ruturaj's mother and wife, to witness the special moment, his son has a huge responsibility.
"He (Ruturaj) has got a huge responsibility in a very short period of time. And one thing, which we have experienced is that whenever he captains the side, his involvement in the game increases and he becomes more focused,” quipped Dashrath, who resides in Pune, Maharashtra.
The 27-year-old Ruturaj was announced as India’s captain of the team which represented the country in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games where Men in Blue clinched the maiden gold medal. He donned the leadership role of Maharashtra in domestic T20 and List A matches.
He has also captained 'Puneri Bappa' in the inaugural season of the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL).
"We have never applauded him for whatever he has done so far. Whenever he performs well or wins a trophy for his team, we discuss it, but not much. Our focus is to forget whatever has happened and look forward to what he can achieve. Like we have chats like what’s your schedule for tomorrow, which match you are going to play next,” an emotional Dashrath added.
Ruturaj hails from Pune district and resides in the Sanghvi area in Pimpri-Chinchwad. It will be a difficult task for Ruturaj, who was the second-highest run-getter for the CSK in the last edition of the IPL.
