IPL 2024

Ruturaj surfs smoothly amidst choppy waves

CSK's skipper has blossomed as a batter irrespective of the mixed results that the team has had
CSK's skipper has blossomed as a batter irrespective of the mixed results that the team has had ©BCCI/IPL

About a few weeks before the start of IPL 2024, when Ruturaj Gaikwad was yet to be officially announced as Chennai Super Kings' new captain, he was partaking on another challenge. In the team hotel that overlooked the Bay of Bengal on one side, he had some swimming lessons on a quiet evening, and the attention on him a far cry from what his erstwhile predecessor would command.

In many ways, CSK had 'soft-launched' his takeover of the side, keeping things under wraps and almost keeping him under a bubble wrap given the attention that the position has garnered. A little past the halfway stage, CSK have had mixed results so far, winning as many as they have lost, but over the last couple of games they have discovered their captain coming into his own in leading by way of example.

His hundred against Lucknow Super Giants had been pushed to second seat by Marcus Stoinis' match-winning effort. However, Ruturaj managed to draw the attention back on himself with an innings of similar quality against SRH. In each match, he had stuck to his methods, and not gone on to out-muscle the opposition as has been in vogue. His proficiency lay in finding the boundaries, and some degree of successful anticipation resulting in boundaries. It was one the reasons why Michael Hussey, his batting coach at CSK and a batter who was once in a similar mould, called him 'my favourite'.

The innings was peppered with delectable shot-making; at one point he was driving Shahbaz Ahmed inside out and then toying with Bhuvneshwar Kumar's lengths by punishing him for going short with a six and then lofting the fuller ball that followed for a boundary. All the while, it helped him score at a healthy strike-rate keeping up with the demands of what a pitch with a bit of grip demanded.

What he lacked as a power-hitter had been compensated to a large extent by other batting smarts working in top gear. And there was plenty of that as Hussey listed out.

"He's a great talent, [has] great timing, [has] great placement, smart batsman as well. He knows when to attack, when to maybe soak up a bit of pressure. He plays spin bowling so well, plays fast bowling well, he can score all around the ground. He's almost one step ahead of the bowler most of the times," he said and added, "He's wonderful to watch."

The methods are seeped in an old-fashioned T20 batting wisdom where the onus is on length of an innings as much as the speed of it. Some of the good work done there, though, risks being masked by the exploits of explosiveness in the public eye, but Hussey insists that he's intent on transferring this knowledge to the next in line.

In the last couple of games, Ruturaj the captain has come into his own in leading by way of example.
In the last couple of games, Ruturaj the captain has come into his own in leading by way of example. ©IPL

"I'm really happy for him. And in fact a lot of our younger players sitting in the sidelines, [I] sit with them and talk to them about what we're seeing with Ruturaj. Why has he been playing so good, how does he construct an innings. So they are great learning experiences for our younger players to see how he goes about it. Because it was another masterclass tonight, it really was."

Hussey chose to highlight Ruturaj's game-reading ability as a point to underline his thoughts on Ruturaj.

"I think he is one of the smartest players going around and he assesses the conditions so well. He even said to me 'It's a shame we're not playing in Kolkata or it's a shame we're not playing in Delhi.' Maybe in those particular grounds if he assesses the conditions, he might think about going aerial early. But perhaps here, when he takes a little bit of time to get settled on the pitch - it has certainly shown a few times here that with the brand new ball it has stuck a little bit on the pitch and then as the dew comes, that's when the seam becomes softer and it can skid on - that's when he can increase his strike-rate after.

"But initially, you need to sometimes take a bit of care, play some good shots along the ground. And that's where his placement has been so good and his strike-rate is so good as well. He knows his game so well, and that's a message to our younger guys as well, figuring out what your game. There's no point Shaik Rasheed trying to bat like MS Dhoni. He's got to figure out how best he bats, he's more a Ruturaj style of player. And we can try to fast-track some of these guys as well by watching Rutu play," said Hussey.

The lavish praise might come with a healthy dose of bias as Hussey was game to admit, but there'd be few contesting otherwise as Ruturaj swims against the tide and still keep moving his team forward.

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