‘Ruturaj Gaikwad can play for India’: Mike Hussey piles the raves

IPL 2023: In the 2021 season, there was something striking about the manner in which Chennai Super Kings went about their approach with the bat. With their conservative style of starting slow and catching up later not working anymore and denying them of a play-off berth for the first time ever, they didn’t hesitate to ditch the formula and be a lot more proactive with the bat and the arrival of Moeen Ali was crucial to it as he time and again changed the tempo of the game.
Ruturaj Gaikwad in the nets. (Twitter/Chennai Super Kings)
As the Indian Premier League returns to the home-and-away concept, all eyes are on Chennai as to how they go about their approach with the bat. At home, where the pitches tend to be on the slower side, they usually play to their strength, ensuring there are at least three spinners in the XI, and for long the template has been to have a total in the range of 160-170. This season with Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana, Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner in play, all the signs pointed to Chennai sticking to their game plan. And in the first game, the pitch didn’t play that slow, as even MS Dhoni admitted his surprise.
Unlike Rajasthan Royals or Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Supergiants or Gujarat Titans or Delhi Capitals, Chennai’s batting line-up is different in many ways. Three of their top eight batsmen happen to be left-handers. And unlike other teams, they don’t have in their ranks an out-and-out power-hitter or format-specific batsman. If other teams have gone about having at least one flamboyant, aggressive batter at the top, in Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, Chennai have two batters who are termed more as conventional cricketers and their strike-rate of 135.80 and 128.29 may not shell shivers for new-ball bowlers, but in successive matches have given Chennai flying starts. Even though Conway departed early in the first match against Gujarat, against Lucknow he played his role in setting the tempo.
Even when they lose wickets, the last three seasons, Chennai have not let opposition build on it as they quickly resort to playing a big shot or two to transfer the pressure on to the bowling team. Is it a deliberate plan?
“I think it’s just a natural evolution of the game really and the players becoming more confident,” Chennai’s batting coach Mike Hussey said. “They’re practicing playing more aggressive strokes all the time, day in and day out. When I first started playing, if you scored 160, you’d win most matches, but today the par score seem to be going higher and higher. And it’s not been a plan to come in and say ‘right, boys, we need to score a lot faster’. We give a lot of ownership to the players to see the situation and play their way. We’re not going to ask Ruturaj to go like Kieron Pollard,” Hussey said.
MS Dhoni and Ruturaj Gaikwad in action during the IPL. (BCCI/IPL)
Ruturaj Gaikwad plays a shot. (IPL)
Hussey had special praise for Gaikwad. In successive matches, the right-hander has scores of 92 and 57 and both those innings were further indication of the batsman’s evolution. Even though the opener has been slow to get off the blocks in the previous seasons, this time, Gaikwad has looked like a player in total control of his game and the situation. Against Gujarat and Lucknow, it was Gaikwad who took the initiative to take on the opposition, asserting his authority.
“It’s been amazing to watch him develop since he was first here at CSK to where he is. Now he’s such a self-aware player. He has a great understanding about his game and what he wants to improve. He has a beautiful all-round game and he plays good cricket shots, and he is slowly adding more power to his game. He is making it very difficult for bowlers to bowl to him because he can hit even good balls for fours or sixes as well,” Hussey said.
Though Gaikwad has been amongst runs in domestic circuit across all formats, he hasn’t been able to get a sustained run in the national set-up. With the openers position locked for the World Cup and competition for spots higher than ever before, Hussey believes Gaikwad has to be patient for the opportunity to come .
Hussey is no stranger to that as in the early 2000s, despite being a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, he had to wait till 2005 to get a chance in the Test side. “There is no doubt in my mind that Ruturaj can play at the international level. He’s definitely good enough to be there and I would love to see him get a good run. It’s a very difficult team to get into, there are obviously so many great players in India and sometimes you just have to wait for your opportunity to come. This is part of the journey. Some guys get an opportunity young in their career. Other guys like myself, get an opportunity a lot later in their career,” Hussey said.