Gaikwad was named in Indian squad for T20I series against New Zealand.
Ahead of the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, Indian opener Ruturaj Gaikwad said he never thought about his batting position in the team and is ready to bat at any position.
The 24-year-old was named in the national squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting on November 17 in Jaipur. The second and third T20Is will be played on November 19 and 21 respectively.
Gaikwad told Times of India: “I have not thought about my batting position in the Indian team. But as a professional, I am ready to adapt. I want to focus on things that are under my control. Cementing my place will only happen when I get opportunities and play well. These things depend on a lot of parameters and strategy, and I don’t really think about that.”
The right-handed batter, who scored 635 runs from 16 outings to win the Orange Cap in the IPL 2021, has opened up how his CSK skipper MS Dhoni has helped him in how to finish the games.
Gaikwad said, “I have always been focused on finishing games. I am used to that mindset. But the bottom line is I always try to keep things simple. I made a few small adjustments in my batting according to the situation and it came off well.”
He concluded, “In fact, there were one or two games when Dhoni came up to me and told me that when I have the game in my control, I must try and finish it. It’s not that an opener should play for only 10-12 overs. I had a discussion with him saying that my mindset has always been to finish the game.”