Be in the moment and enjoy, Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals MS Dhoni's advice on his IPL debut

MS Dhoni advised him to be in the moment and enjoy the game when the Pune-born cricketer was making his debut in the Indian Premier League. At the IPL 2019 Player Auction, CSK bought Gaikwad for Rs 20 lakh. After a sensational 2021 edition of the league, where he scored 635 runs in 16 matches, the batter was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2022 edition of the league for Rs 6 crore.

"When I made my debut, he (M.S Dhoni) was very clear. He said to enjoy the game. Representing this franchise is a huge achievement, a lot of great players have been part of this dressing room, and a lot of greats have been involved with this franchise.

So, I think he just said that 'you just need to be in that moment and enjoy' it," said Gaikwad, during his interaction with students at the Super Kings Academy, here. The 25-year-old, who won the Orange Cap in IPL 2021, has been CSK's most consistent opener in the last few seasons. However, he also saw failures during his early time with the franchise.

"I really need to be thankful and grateful that I was in a really good team which has a very good environment. Also, having M.S Dhoni around me helped a lot as well. In that process, I never felt that I was having a setback.

"If I look back now, yes, I had failures to start off with, but the management, the team and the coach made me feel (good). I would give a lot of credit to the whole CSK team, the captain and coach," he said. As per the right-handed batter, every cricketer sees failures in their careers but it's important to stay positive.