(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who will lead Team India in the men’s cricket event of the Asian Games 2023, opened up on his leadership role and gave an explanation of how his captaincy is going to be different from the legendary skipper MS Dhoni.
The Indian cricket team is participating in the Asian Games for the very first time and have their first match scheduled against Nepal. Notably, India directly qualified for the quarter-finals of the Asian Games 2023 due to their ranking. The match will be played at Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field, Hangzhou.
Ahead of India’s opening fixture versus Nepal, Ruturaj spoke to the press and talked about the difference between his leadership qualities and Dhoni’s.
“I got to learn a lot of things from him (Dhoni) but every person has a different style. His style is different, his personality is different and my personality is a bit different,” said Gaikwad.
Gaikwad continued, saying that he will take out all the good things from Dhoni’s captaincy, but he is also keen to implement more of himself on the field.
“I will try to be myself and not really look at what he usually does. Obviously, yes you have to pick out some things that he does really well, how he handles situations and how he handles particular players during a match. Obviously, these are a few things I really took from him, but I would like to lead the way I want to. I just want the players to express themselves and give how much ever freedom that I can,” he added.
The 26-year-old opener, Gaikwad, recently played two ODIs against Australia, in which he scored 71 and eight runs respectively.
India’s quarter-final against Nepal will start at 6:30 AM IST on 3rd October.