One of the biggest characteristic traits of MS Dhoni has been his astute captaincy and the way he has moulded and shaped the lives of other cricketers. MS Dhoni is that captain, every player wants to make his debut and play under.
Under the captaincy of Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won 5 Indian Premier League (IPL) titles. Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK’s opener has been an integral part of the franchise since the last couple of years now.
Gaikwad was the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2021 and had a good IPL 2023 season as well. He mustered 590 runs in IPL 2023 and finished as the second-highest run-getter of the champions.
The 26-year-old batter has now been made the captain of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming Asian Games 2023.
In the post-match conference after the 2nd T20I between Ireland and India, Ruturaj Gaikwad shed light on the leadership lessons, that have been imparted by the legendary MS Dhoni.
“I think leadership role is a very complicated thing to be honest. What Mahi bhai always says is to take it one game at a time. Just be in the present moment, don’t worry about the future. Everyone creates hype and whatever it is. I am not the kind of person who do really watch social media and hear things about what anyone is saying about me. I think this is one of the traits that I have learned at CSK. I am pretty much clear about giving my best in the field, coming back home, chilling with my friends,” said the 26-year-old flamboyant batter.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has also described as to what his thought process behind captaincy is and through which lens, he looks at it.
“Leadership for me is to give maximum confidence to the ten players, who are playing. Make sure that I step into their shoes and think about what they are thinking and what they are going through. Sometimes the batters and bowlers have their own plans, they are really thinking about the game from their perspective,” said Gaikwad.
“So, I feel it is important to back them in that moment. After the game, there is always an opportunity of what went wrong, what we could have improved. For me in the game particularly, it is more about giving freedom to the players. Make sure they back themselves first. Too many suggestions also create confusion; this is what I believe,” he added.
India will be playing in the Asian Games 2023 for the first time in Cricket
The Indian cricket team will be partaking in the cricket event of the upcoming Asian Games 2023 for the first time. When the Asian Games had cricket in 2010 and 2014, the apex body of Indian cricket, the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) decided against sending the Indian cricket team.
India have named a very young and inexperienced side that features the likes of Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jitesh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Shivam Mavi.
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