Former iconic Australian batter and CSK batting coach Mike Hussey praised and extolled Indian cricketer Ruturaj Gaikwad. When the Aussie legend got wind of CSK's opener gargantuan List-A career double hundred shored up with a 168 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinals for Maharashtra, there was an undercurrent of amazement in his tone.
“Did he again? Oh my… that is the thing about him. When he gets going, he is such a wonderful player that you find it hard to stop,” Hussey told Indian Express.
It was a momentous and historic day for Maharashtra as they made it to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Gaikwad continued his prolific touch with the bat as he rode another record-breaking roller-coaster. After whacking 16 sixes against Uttar Pradesh which had the social media abuzz, his 168 against Assam at Narendra Modi Stadium on November 30 became his 11th century in the tournament. This epic feat is also the joint-highest with Robin Uthappa and his seventh century in nine Vijay Hazare Trophy matches since last season. And four of them have been played out of his skin as they are 150-plus scores, something Hussey believes makes him cut above the rest.
“Even when we are at CSK, the discussions have been about the bigger picture, which is India. I know the competition is tough and there are a lot of good players in India, so you have to keep scoring runs. And not 50s and 60s or just a 100. If you get in and make a hundred, you have to make it like 150 or 200. That is the sort of numbers you need when you have a lot of competition going around. That is what selectors will notice… not the 100s, but the big scores that will make you stand up and take notice,” Hussey said.
While Ruturaj since his underwhelming run in the Indian colours in home series against South Africa has not been able to make the cut for the Bangladesh and New Zealand tours, his recent exploits certainly make him stand first in the queue of the pecking order. With Shubhman Gill touted to open in the series to come against Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Gaikwad has made a strong case for himself to pair up as the likely opener.
Hussey who is also known as Mr Cricket owing to his encyclopedia-like erudite knowledge of cricket, revealed that he is cultivating a bond with Gaikwad and is mighty impressed with his observational skills.
“We just talk a lot,” Hussey admits. “Through the years we have developed a relationship where we have also started talking things other than cricket. As a coach you got to do that to make a player switch off and he is a very observing person. He observes a lot of players in the team and even in the opposition, which is an excellent trait. He obviously watches Dhoni very closely. And the other impressive thing about him is he picks up things that other players don’t pick up that quickly. He is a self-made cricketer and obviously you need help along the way and he is quite good at picking up new things from other players,” Hussey said.
While CSK's plans remain up in the air and future hangs in the balance for a captain to replace MS Dhoni who is nearing retirement, Hussey hinted at the potential Gaikwad has for leadership.
“I’m not sure what the plans for the future at CSK, but like Dhoni, he is very calm. He is actually very calm when it comes to handling the pressure like Dhoni and he is a very good reader of the game and as I said earlier, he is very observant and I think people are drawn to him because of his nature, character and personality and they like being around him. He has got some excellent leadership qualities,” Hussey said.
