24-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad is over the moon after being included in the India squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. India is scheduled to play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Sri Lanka in July and Gaikwad earned his maiden India call-up.
He is one of the six uncapped India players chosen for the Sri Lanka tour and said that he would be banking on his ability to adapt quickly in order to impress.
“I am just happy. Right from the moment I got to know about it, you know a journey comes in front of your eyes that from where you started and where you wanted to reach…it’s a pretty emotional feeling,” Gaikwad told PTI.
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The right-hander averages over 47 in the 59 List A matches that he has played and has a strike rate of more than 130 in the T20 format and said that adapting to any situation in the game is his “core strength”.
“Be it in an attacking manner or be it playing according to the situation, taking some time or making sure your team crosses the line, the way I adapt to both situations, that is what I think my strength is more often,” he added.
Ruturaj impressed in two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Chennai Super Kings and is waiting to reconnect with Rahul Dravid who is going to coach the Indian team on this tour.
“The opportunities would be limited but I’m just looking forward to learn from this journey as much as I can. There are experienced players in the group and obviously once again I will get a chance to reconnect with Rahul Sir.
Last India A tour happened one and half years ago, so again, there is a chance to regroup with him (Rahul Dravid) have a chat about the game, so there is a lot more than just performance or scorecard. Obviously, if I get the opportunity, just hoping that I can give my best and wish to win a game for India. One of my biggest goals is to get a win for the Indian team or my country,” Ruturaj said.
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Talking about things he has learned from CSK captain MS Dhoni, Gaikwad said that the former India captain is easily approachable and knows when any player is having a problem.
“When he (Dhoni) thinks I’m under the pump or pressure, he is the first one to come and ask me that are you feeling something like that and you need not worry. Even last year there was a situation, where I started badly in IPL, so he was the one who came up first and asked me to relax and enjoy the game…it calmed my nerves a little bit and it helped me enjoy my game,” Gaikwad said about Dhoni.
(PTI inputs)
