The mother who taught her son to walk by holding her finger and showed him the way to the cricket ground by holding her finger, today that son has become MS Dhoni's trust. Today he is shining on the cricket field. Rituraj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings, who once hit sixes for the cover of chocolate, takes the ball across the boundary to win the team today.
Star Sports shared a video of Gaikwad's journey from winning the chocolate to Dhoni's special message. Told in this video how Gaikwad became Dhoni's most trusted opener. Gaikwad, who made his IPL debut in 2019, was shown the way to the cricket field by his mother Savita, who is a teacher.
Covers used to be pasted in the diary
At the age of 3-4, Rituraj used to go to school with his mother. Seeing the son on the field, his father understood that he is going to do wonders in cricket. After this, a new journey of Rituraj started and took admission in the academy. During training, Rituraj was asked by his coach to write a diary, in which he used to write about his shortcomings. His coach used to give him one chocolate for Fifty and two chocolates for a century. Rituraj used to paste the cover of chocolate in the diary. His game also improved in the process of collecting more and more chocolate covers.
The journey from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 6 crore
The turning point of his life was Maharashtra's camp for under-14 selection. He could not score runs in 2 matches. He used to cry secretly, but he quickly understood that unless his tears turn into sweat, his dream will not come true. After this he worked hard and entered the IPL. For the 2019 IPL, Chennai bought him at a base price of Rs 20 lakh and seeing his amazing performance, the franchise retained him for Rs 6 crore before IPL 2022.
From winning chocolates from his coach to getting a special message from @msdhoni himself - @Ruutu3113 was born to impress!
Watch his incredible journey into @ChennaiIPL folklore
Tune-in to #RRvCSK at #IPLonStar LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network.#BetterTogether pic.twitter.com/7iqdICHfFW — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 27, 2023
My finger broke by a bouncer
At the age of 19, he got a chance to impress MS Dhoni, one of the most successful captains in the world, but in that match, he broke his finger due to a bouncer and had to return to the dugout. He was sitting with a sad heart, but then Dhoni himself came to him and consoled him and wrote Get Well Soon on his plaster.
Rituraj's performance in IPL
After this, Rituraj's connection was established with him. Rituraj made his debut in 2020. Scored 204 runs including 3 half-centuries in 6 matches in the debut season, 635 runs including one century and 4 half-centuries in 16 matches in 2021, scored 368 runs including 3 half-centuries in 14 matches in 2022. This season too, he has scored 270 runs in 7 matches including 2 half-centuries.