Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad was born on 31 January 1997 and rose through the age group system of the Maharashtra team, and consistently made it to India A side as well. He is one of the consistent performers in the domestic cricketing setup of the country. He has been praised by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni for his sharp brain and immaculate understanding of the game. Gaikwad leads the Maharashtra cricket team in domestic cricket. He is the only batter in the history of cricket to smash seven sixes in one over.

Ruturaj Gaikwad: Along the Years

Ruturaj Gaikwad Records

• 3rd highest run-getter (444) in 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy
  
  

• Leading run scorer (603) for Maharashtra in 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy
  
  

• Scored 4 centuries and equaled Virat Kohli’s record of scoring maximum hundreds in a single Vijay Hazare Tournament (2021-22)
  
  

• Only Batter who holds the record for the most centuries (12) in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy
  
  

• Only Batter to hit 7 sixes in an over across all formats of Cricket
  
  

• First Indian Captain to win the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games
  
  

• 2nd Indian Captain to win a T20I tournament (2022 Asian Games) on their very first endeavor
  
  

• Only Indian batter to score a century (123*) against Australia in T20Is
  
  

• Orange Cap winner for scoring the most runs (635) in IPL 2021
  
  

• Winner of the “Emerging Player of the Year” award in IPL 2021
  
  

• 2nd Player after Robin Uthappa to win the Orange Cap along with the IPL trophy (2021 IPL)
  
  

Ruturaj Gaikwad Career

Ruturaj Gaikwad is a classy batter who opens the inning for his team. He has performed exceptionally well since his debut in domestic cricket. At present, he is the key face and the skipper of IPL team Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He is also the main asset of Maharashtra’s domestic team. Due to his excellent performance in the domestic circuit and IPL, he knocks on the door of the Indian team again and again.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Domestic Career

The stylish right-handed batsman made his first-class debut at the age of 19 for Maharashtra during the Ranji trophy 2016-17. On his India A debut, shortly after his first-class debut, Gaikwad was out on a golden duck, against England Lions in January 2019. It was to be, however, just a small blip in the course of a glorious summer.

His scores for India A in List A cricket during the home series against Sri Lanka A and in the Caribbean against West Indies A read: 187*, 125*, 94, 84, 74, 3, 85, 20, 99. That's 677 runs at an average of 112.83 and a strike rate of 116.72. In October 2018, he was named in India B's squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. Gaikwad scored 365 runs at 45.62 in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

In October 2021, Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed as Maharashtra captain for the white-ball formats. He made 259 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 149.71 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 and followed with an astounding campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22, where he was the highest run-getter in the season with 603 runs in just five innings, including four centuries.

In the following VHT season, Gaikwad hit more than 600 runs for the second time in a row. Ruturaj scored an unbeaten 220 runs in the quarter-final game against Uttar Pradesh. In the penultimate over of the Maharashtra innings, Gaikwad slammed left-arm spinner Shiva Singh for seven sixes in six balls as the bowler bowled a no-ball on the fifth delivery.

Maharashtra reached the final of that season but ended up as runners-up following their five-wicket defeat to Saurashtra. Gaikwad's 108 against Jaydev Unadkat & co. went in vain, however, he was awarded Player of the Series for scoring 660 runs in just five matches at a staggering average of 220.

As of now, his success rate has been much higher in List A, where he is consistent and also makes his runs at a healthy strike rate. However, given his temperament and technique, Ruturaj should be able to better his already reasonable returns in First-class cricket.

Ruturaj Gaikwad IPL Career

Ruturaj Gaikwad was sold to CSK for his base price of INR 20 lakh in the 2019 IPL auction but warmed the bench throughout the season. He played just six games in the next season in UAE and aggregated 204 runs in six innings with three fifty-plus score in the last three of his innings in IPL 2020.

Gaikwad was promoted to bat along with Faf du Plessis in the IPL 2021. It turned out to be a game-changing season for the Maharashtra player. He scored a splendorous unbeaten 88 against Mumbai Indians in the first game of the second leg in UAE. He pushed CSK to a respectable 156 after they were in tatters at 24/4 at one stage and they eventually won by 20 runs.

Gaikwad scored his maiden IPL century (101*) against Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi but it turned out to be a losing cause with the opponent chasing 190 with 15 balls to spare. Gaikwad pipped his CSK opening partner Faf du Plessis by two runs to bag the Orange Cap of IPL 2021, scoring 635 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 136.26 with four half-centuries and a century.

Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, Gaikwad was retained for INR 6 crores by CSK along with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, and Moeen Ali. However, the youngster added 368 runs in 14 games in CSK's disappointing campaign in IPL 2022. The only solace of the season was Gaikwad's 99 against SRH in CSK's 13-run win in Pune.

Ruturaj Gaikwad made a strong comeback through the 2023 IPL. He scored 590 runs in 16 games at an excellent strike rate of 147.50 with four half-centuries. His exceptional performance with the bat helped his team win their 5th IPL trophy. 

Ahead of the 2024 IPL, Gaikwad has been announced as the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after MS Dhoni decided to step down from the captaincy.

Ruturaj Gaikwad International Career

After his brilliant performance in the domestic circuit and IPL, Ruturaj Gaikwad got the chance to show his skills at the International level. He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo and ODI debut against South Africa in Lucknow.

Ruturaj Gaikwad ODI Career

Gaikwad made his ODI debut against South Africa in the first match on October 6, 2022. He batted at No.3 and scored 19 runs from 42 balls before getting stumped by Quinton de Kock off Tabraiz Shamsi's bowling.

In September 2023, Gaikwad got his name in India’s ODI squad for the first two games in the series against Australia. During the 1st match, he scored 71 runs which was also his 1st half-century in ODI cricket. As of 2024, he has played a total of 6 ODIs for Team India in which he scored 115 runs so far.

Ruturaj Gaikwad T20I Career

In between the two legs of the IPL 2021, Gaikwad earned his maiden call for the Indian national men's team. He was named in the 20-member squad under Shikhar Dhawan to tour Sri Lanka for a combined six limited-overs matches. He played in the last two T20I matches in Colombo and scored 21 & 14 respectively.

In February 2022, Gaikwad was given the opportunity to open the innings with Ishan Kishan in the third T20I against West Indies with sipper Rohit Sharma slotting himself to bat at No.4. Gaikwad missed the chance as he departed for just four runs from eight balls.

Ruturaj scored 96 runs in five matches against South Africa with the best score of 57 in the third T20I in Visakhapatnam. He played in the first match against Ireland in Dublin but did not bat in the rain-truncated match. The Indian team management took a precautionary measure by resting Gaikwad in the second game as he had a calf niggle.

In the following year, Gaikwad again went to Ireland but this time in a new role as the vice-captain of the Indian team. He was the leading run-scorer with 77 runs from the two T20I games with 58 as his best.

In July 2023, Ruturaj was appointed as the Captain of India’s T20I team for the 2022 Asian Games and led the Indian team to win their 1st ever gold medal at the Asian Games.

In November 2023, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored his maiden International century (123*) in the 3rd T20I against Australia. With this exceptional knock, he became the 9th Indian batter to score a hundred in T20I and his knock is the 2nd highest by an Indian batter in T20I cricket. In addition, he also became the 1st Indian to score a hundred against Australia in T20Is and his score is the highest by any batter worldwide against Australia in T20I cricket.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Captaincy

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been the Captain of Maharashtra’s domestic team for the white-ball formats since October 2021. Under his captaincy, Maharashtra went to the finals of the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy but couldn’t cross the final hurdle and lost the game by 5 wickets against Saurashtra.

Gaikwad has shown glimpses of his captaincy even at the International level. He was the Captain of India’s T20I team for the 2023 Asian Games. He led the Indian team to win the gold medal and also became the 1st Indian captain to do so. He is the 2nd Indian Captain to win a T20I tournament (2022 Asian Games) on their very first attempt.

Prior to the 2024 IPL, he was chosen as the Captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after MS Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Family

Ruturaj Gaikwad is from a Pune-based family that has always valued academics highly. His father, Dashrath Gaikwad is a Defence Research Development Officer, and his mother, Sawita Gaikwad is a teacher at a municipal school. None of his cousins, with whom he grew up in a large joint family played sports.

In June 2023, Gaikwad got married to his long-time girlfriend Utkarsha Pawar who is also a cricketer and features for Maharashtra Women’s Cricket Team.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Net Worth

As of 2024, Ruturaj Gaikwad has an estimated net worth of INR 36 crores. He earned most of it through International matches, IPL matches, domestic circuits, brand endorsements, and ad shoots.

Ruturaj Gaikwad House

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s house is located in a building named Amar Landmark at Someshwarwadi in Pune. He resides here with his wife and family. According to a report by Money Control, he bought this apartment for INR 8 crores.

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Cars

Ruturaj Gaikwad owns an Audi, a BMW M8, and a Jawa 42 Bobber motorcycle as well.