Ruturaj Gaikwad, who became the captain of Chennai Super King last year, is emerging as one of the most promising captains. He has been impressive with his batting skills, not just with the leadership. Ruturaj, being the captain of CSK, has a very big responsibility and legacy to carry forward as he succeeded the 5-time IPL winner Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This article will discuss Ruturaj Gaikwad's performance as a batter and a captain till this year.

 

Gaikwad has shown Mahendra Singh Dhoni's calmness and temperament. His temperament and resilience show why he was chosen as the long-term leader of Chennai Super Kings. 

 

 

There is a story related to Rituraj Gaikwad. A few years ago, when he came to auction, CSK unexpectedly picked him. According to the few people around CSK, N Srinivasan saw his qualities in leading the CSK after Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement.

This also shows how a franchise like Chennai Super Kings thinks in the long term. Despite having Dhoni as the captain for the next few years, they have even decided on the captain after Dhoni 4-5 years in advance.

 

His performance as captain in last year's IPL was not the kind he expected. CSK missed the playoffs after losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their last match of the season.

 

Ruturaj Gaikwad:The Batter

 

In his 66 matches, Ruturaj scored 2380 runs at an impressive average of 41.75. He also scored 18 half-centuries and two centuries, with a strike rate of 136.86.

 

Ruturaj Gaikwad became the orange cap winner in IPL 2021, scoring 635 runs. The fact that it was his just second season makes the achievement even more special. He also won the Emerging Player award that season, along with the orange cap.

 

Season-wise Performance

Year	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Highest Score	Fifties	Hundreds
2020	6	204	51.00	120.71	72	3	-
2021	16	635	45.36	136.26	101*	4	1
2022	14	368	26.29	126.46	99	3	-
2023	16	590	42.14	147.50	-	-	-
Total	66	2380	41.75	136.86	108*	18	2

Ruturaj Gaikwad Batting Stats

 

Category	Stats
Matches	66
Innings	65
Runs	2380
Average	41.75
Strike Rate	136.86
Half-centuries	18
Centuries	2
Highest Score	108*
Fours	217
Sixes	91

 

Ruturaj Gaikwad: The Captain

 

Ruturaj debuted for CSK in IPL 2020 and became the team captain in just four seasons, succeeding MS Dhoni. In the 14 matches as captain, he won 7 while losing seven games, a 50% winning strike rate.

Ruturaj Gaikwad Captaincy Stats

Format	Matches as Captain	Wins	Losses	No Result	Win Percentage
IPL	14	7	7	-	50.00%

 

Ruturaj Gaikwad Salary History

Year	Price (INR)	Team
2025	₹18 crore	CSK
2024	₹6 crore	CSK
2023	₹6 crore	CSK
2022	₹6 crore	CSK
2021	₹20 lakh	CSK
2020	₹20 lakh	CSK
2019	₹20 lakh	CSK

CSK IPL 2025 Squad

 

Category	Players
Batters	Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Andre Siddarth
Wicketkeepers	MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Vansh Bedi
Fast-bowling All-rounders	Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Ramakrishna Ghosh
Spin-bowling All-rounders	Ravindra Jadeja, Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda
Pacers	Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Anshul Kamboj, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Gurjapneet Singh
Spinners	R Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal