In the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders, the CSK skipper was dismissed for another low score. Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn’t been able to fire as he would like in the season so far. However, the South African legendary pacer, Dale Steyn believes that he will come good as he is a fantastic batter. The fans in yellow seem to be disappointed in the form of their captain as he is a key player in their top-order.

The Chennai Super Kings went through a really rough patch in the first couple of matches. Their batting order was highly rated by the fans as they had some prolific names in the batting unit. But the lack of contribution from the top, reflected in the results in the initial phases. However, the form of Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre will come as a relief to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Pressure of strike rate and role clarity challenge Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad is a brilliant technical batter with some classy shots in his array. He is one of the most pleasing batters to the eye as when he plays the cover drive, it is almost as if he caresses the ball. He had a good domestic season as he scored a couple of half-centuries for Maharashtra. Ruturaj Gaikwad also scored his maiden ODI hundred for the national side in recent times and there is nothing to suggest that he is out of touch. The Chennai fans took the batter under their stride and defended him against criticisms. But now with such a terrible phase going on, the fans themselves feel that he is under utilizing the powerplay and that he should bat down the order.

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been consistent with his low scores of 6, 28, 7, 15 and 7, scoring 63 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 105. We all know that the modern day game was shaped predominantly by the Sunrisers Hyderabad opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Their fearless approach and powerful ball-striking is what instigated other batters to bat the same way. Ruturaj Gaikwad appears to be on the same page as he isn’t naturally an attacking batter but he is trying to adapt. More than brute force, Ruturaj Gaikwad relies on pure timing and finding the gaps in the powerplay. He is being burdened a bit too much by the pressure of strike-rates and that is what seems to be disturbing his mental state.

It will be best if Ruturaj Gaikwad can just introspect into the batter he really is. He is that kind of player that needs to get adjusted to the pitch and starts off slowly. He can switch gears at a certain phase of the game, but hitting from ball one isn’t his style. Ruturaj Gaikwad could spend some time at the crease, simply rotating the strike to Sanju Samson and see how he goes about his batting. Such phases are really tough to pass through and as a great batter himself, he will have to find a way out.

The Chennai Super KIngs will be taking on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday and they will be expecting the return of MS Dhoni. With the lean patch of form for Ruturaj Gaikwad, he seems to be confident that a big knock is just around the corner for him.