Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad's Profile

Ruturaj Gaikwad is an Indian international cricketer. The right-handed batsman was born on 31 January 1997, in Pune, Maharashtra. His father, Dasharath Gaikwad, was associated with DRDO, while his mother Sawita Gaikwad worked as a school teacher. Ruturaj Gaikwad is married to Utkarsha Pawar.

At the age of 13, he joined the Varroc Dilip Vengsarkar Academy in Pune. In the 2010 Cadence Trophy, he clinched the title of the Man of the Match. He scored 63(71) for Varroc Dilip Vengsarkar Academy against Mumbai’s MIG Cricket Club and they won by 7 wickets. On 6th October 2016 he made his first-class debut for Maharashtra in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. In February 2017, he made his T20 debut for Maharashtra in the Inter-State Twenty20 match. Followed by his List A debut on 25th February for Maharashtra in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy where he scored 444 runs across 7 matches. In 2018, he was named in the 2018-19 Deodhar Trophy and the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup. In the 2021 Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he captained Maharashtra and knocked 259 runs at an average of 51.80.

Gaikwad was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the 2019 IPL auctions for his base price of INR 20 lakh. The 2020 IPL marked the debut of Ruturaj where he established himself as a promising opener. Scoring his first IPL century against the Rajasthan Royals in the 2021 IPL season, he clinched the Orange Cap for scoring the highest runs in that season. He was also awarded the Emerging Player of the Year in the 2021 IPL.

During the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he matched Virat Kohli’s record for the most centuries in a single edition and crossed the 600-run mark for Maharashtra. In the following season (2022-23), he etched his name in the record books again by becoming the first batter to score seven sixes in an over against Uttar Praesh in 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal. His 108-run knock against Saurashtra in that tournament further showed his consistency and dominance. In 2023 he played as the Captain for Punerio Bappa in the Maharashtra Premier League.

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