<p>Bengaluru: Like every cricketer, Ruturaj Gaikwad was looking forward to IPL 2025. It was his sophomore season as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, the joint most successful franchise with five titles. Having missed out on the playoffs spot to bitter rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru on the last day of league engagements in 2024 and CSK going through a rebuilding phase, Ruturaj aspired to be the man to lead the resurrection.</p>.<p>Sports can be cruel and things fell apart for the Maharashtra batter at the start of the season itself when he was struck on the unprotected part of the elbow by a bouncer from Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer. The 28-year-old batted through the pain, scoring a fine 63, and even played the next two games before being ruled out of the tournament. He was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer after five games and was on course to emulate the 2024 season where he topped the batting charts for them with 583 runs.</p>.Duleep Trophy | Jagadeesan puts South Zone in control .<p>The fracture halted not just his CSK ambitions but India A hopes as well, as he ended up missing the tour to England before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Indian cricket is so loaded with talent that the time on the sidelines can really derail someone’s progress, but Gaikwad used the injury to recalibrate himself. He spent quality time with his family — a rarity of most active cricketers — and has now come charging off the blocks, first scoring a brilliant 133 off 144 balls for Maharashtra in the Buchi Babu tournament against Himachal Pradesh in Tamil Nadu and then announcing his return to first-class cricket in smashing style, belting a 206-ball 184 for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence here on Thursday.</p>.<p>“There are some things you cannot really control and I think it was a very freak injury and nothing anyone can do about it,” Gaikwad told reporters. “So, I think I just had a good family time, enjoyed my time at home, obviously loved all the time that I spent with my family and then obviously trying to get into the rhythm, get into the routines, do the small, small things.</p>.<p>“I think I got a good time to prepare, especially after not being part of the India A series. And then after that coming back, I decided to work on red ball, give it some amount of time and obviously still working on it, still a long way to go. Red ball actually needs a lot of patience, a lot of process to be followed and it was just about getting into that rhythm. And you know, I did it for almost one and a half months and obviously Buchi Babu as well and then it happened here as well.”</p>.<p>The domestic season has just started and Gaikwad has taken off in the right manner following the unfortunate injury. When asked what his goals were, the easygoing Gaikwad said he doesn’t want to think too far ahead. “Not really looking forward to anything. I just want to bat and do the right things.”</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Like every cricketer, Ruturaj Gaikwad was looking forward to IPL 2025. It was his sophomore season as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, the joint most successful franchise with five titles. Having missed out on the playoffs spot to bitter rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru on the last day of league engagements in 2024 and CSK going through a rebuilding phase, Ruturaj aspired to be the man to lead the resurrection.</p>.<p>Sports can be cruel and things fell apart for the Maharashtra batter at the start of the season itself when he was struck on the unprotected part of the elbow by a bouncer from Rajasthan Royals’ Jofra Archer. The 28-year-old batted through the pain, scoring a fine 63, and even played the next two games before being ruled out of the tournament. He was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer after five games and was on course to emulate the 2024 season where he topped the batting charts for them with 583 runs.</p>.Duleep Trophy | Jagadeesan puts South Zone in control .<p>The fracture halted not just his CSK ambitions but India A hopes as well, as he ended up missing the tour to England before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Indian cricket is so loaded with talent that the time on the sidelines can really derail someone’s progress, but Gaikwad used the injury to recalibrate himself. He spent quality time with his family — a rarity of most active cricketers — and has now come charging off the blocks, first scoring a brilliant 133 off 144 balls for Maharashtra in the Buchi Babu tournament against Himachal Pradesh in Tamil Nadu and then announcing his return to first-class cricket in smashing style, belting a 206-ball 184 for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence here on Thursday.</p>.<p>“There are some things you cannot really control and I think it was a very freak injury and nothing anyone can do about it,” Gaikwad told reporters. “So, I think I just had a good family time, enjoyed my time at home, obviously loved all the time that I spent with my family and then obviously trying to get into the rhythm, get into the routines, do the small, small things.</p>.<p>“I think I got a good time to prepare, especially after not being part of the India A series. And then after that coming back, I decided to work on red ball, give it some amount of time and obviously still working on it, still a long way to go. Red ball actually needs a lot of patience, a lot of process to be followed and it was just about getting into that rhythm. And you know, I did it for almost one and a half months and obviously Buchi Babu as well and then it happened here as well.”</p>.<p>The domestic season has just started and Gaikwad has taken off in the right manner following the unfortunate injury. When asked what his goals were, the easygoing Gaikwad said he doesn’t want to think too far ahead. “Not really looking forward to anything. I just want to bat and do the right things.”</p>