“There is lot more than just performance or scorecard” Ruturaj Gaikwad on being coached under his yesteryear’s coach Rahul Dravid
Dravid has worked with Ruturaj Gaikwad in India A tours and India Under-19. Dravid will reportedly coach India on Sri Lanka tour of limited overs.
Maharashtra player and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Ruturaj Gaikwad said regrouping with Rahul Dravid will be more than just performing and scoring runs. Gaikwad played under the able guidance of Dravid in India A tours and India Under-19.
BCCI yet hasn’t made an official announcement on Rahul Dravid’s appointment. Yesterday the Indian squad was announced for the Sri Lanka tour. A 20 member squad included many promising IPL players and fringe players waiting for their turn along with some veterans. Ruturaj Gaikwad is looking forward to the tour as he will now understand the game with experienced players and coach Rahul Dravid.
“The opportunities would be limited but I’m just looking forward to learning 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,” said Ruturaj.
Gaikwad had 400 runs in 13 matches for CSK, has impressed one and all with stroke play-up top.
“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,” Ruturaj recalled.
“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.” Gaikwad concluded.
The ODI’s are scheduled on July 13, 16, and 18 followed by the T20I’s on July 21, 23, and 25. Shikhar Dhawan will lead the side while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been named vice-captain for the tour.
Squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (VC), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya.
Net Bowlers:
Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh