CHENNAI: As the Chennai Super Kings went down by five wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting, especially in the powerplay, came under the scanner once again. CSK are now on 12 points with one match left, hoping for an outside chance to make it to the play-offs.
One of the biggest letdowns this year has been Gaikwad’s captaincy and batting, in particular, up front. With 182 runs in powerplay, the CSK skipper has a strike rate of 124.7 in the first six overs. Bluntly put, in today's IPL era, that number seems unacceptable. Monday was no exception. After six overs, Gaikwad was on nine runs from 11 balls before eventually getting out for 15 from 21 balls.
To put his SR into context, Gaikwad is 32nd in powerplay SR among batters until May 18. It is the seventh-worst among openers in the first six overs. And he is 19th in the number of sixes he has hit in the powerplay. His opening partner Sanju Samson has 239 runs in powerplay with a strike rate of 154.19.
After the loss, when asked if powerplay batting was a reason for the defeat, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming acknowledged that Gaikwad could do more. “I think Rutu can do more. He's done more in the past. He's been a fine player at the top. He hasn't produced the quantity of runs and the pace of runs that he's done in his career, and that's something that he will address,” Fleming said.
There is merit to that argument. Gaikwad was a vital cog in CSK winning the titles in both 2021 and 2023. Since taking over as captain, the pressure of filling MS Dhoni’s shoes along with the rapid pace at which the format and the league are changing, seems to have caught up to him. While he missed most of the 2025 season, if CSK fails to qualify, it will be the first time they do so thrice in a row, bringing Gaikwad’s captaincy into question.
Fleming, however, threw his weight behind Gaikwad. “Yeah, there's been a lot of change. This year, at least, he was here the whole time. Last year, he wasn't here at all, so it would be unfair to judge that. But yeah, there's been a lot of work done behind the scenes as we learn about this group of players. Obviously, the way through, we have made some mistakes. Always put our hand up for that, but we have also done some good things. There have been some players who have come through. In the second half, we have won a number of games, and we've been in the fight with this. We just haven't been accurate enough, and Rutu will be going through that as part of his development.”
“It's a big transition from having one of the best captains in the cricket scene, running the franchise for such a long time to a new captain. It's going to take a little bit of time. He's doing a good job. He has a massive amount of respect for this group of players, and he's learning all the time and putting that into play. So going forward, I have no doubt he'll be a fine captain for this franchise,” Fleming said.
While only time will tell whether Gaikwad remains as captain come next year, for now, CSK still have a match to win when they take on Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad later this week.
