Gaikwad denies comparisons to Legend Kohli

Young Indian talented batter Ruturaj Gaikwad dismissed any comparisons or talks regarding filling the gap that legendary batter Virat Kohli left. The latter announced his retirement from T20I cricket following India’s recent World T20 Series win. 

Kohli accumulated 4188 runs in 125 T20I innings, sealing the status as the second-highest run-getter in the format. In the meantime, Ruturaj Gaikwad has shown his flexibility, playing in different positions, averaging an impressive 38.93 with a decent strike rate of 141.40 in his 21 T20I matches for the national side. 

In the ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe, the right-handed batter is filling the position of number three, a role that has been always dominated by the legend Virat Kohli. 

“It’s a big thing and clearly not the perfect time to talk. Comparing oneself to an accomplished player like Kohli would be extremely challenging and inadvisable. The priority right now should be to focus on starting your own career and playing your own game, rather than trying to emulate or fill the shoes of another. Establishing your own style and approach is the wisest path forward,” Gaikwad stated.

“I’m willing to bat wherever the team needs me. There’s no issue with that. The difference between opening and batting at number three isn’t significant, since you have to face the new ball in either position. So the roles are quite similar,” he added.

After suffering a shocker in the first match of the series against Zimbabwe, Team India bounced back strongly, with Gaikwad’s 47 balls 77* and Abhishek Sharma’s blistering knock of 100 runs that levelled the series. At the time of writing, India and Zimbabwe are up for the third face-off which will also act as a tie-breaker between the two teams.