I don't judge myself on runs I score, want to keep improving as player: Ruturaj Gaikwad

"If you look at my last two years, they have been very progressive... you can't judge by the amount of runs I scored because the runs will go up and down. In my first IPL I scored 600 runs and in the next edition I scored 400 but people still say that I didn't have a good IPL.

"I think that's the standard I've set, there will be ups and downs. I just need to make sure that I keep progressing as a human being, as a player and a cricketer. The main goal is to keep on improving whichever team I am with.

"Each and every day you go out for practise sessions you try and improve and try and rectify whatever mistakes you've made," said Gaikwad, who is part of the India 'A' team which will play three unofficial ODIs against New Zealand 'A' at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here from Thursday. He scored 635 runs for Chennai Super Kings during their title winning run in the 2021 edition of IPL and made people take notice with his graceful batting and ability to hit big shots too. In this year's IPL, he scored 368 runs as the team struggled to make an impact.

The stylish right-hander who scored a ton in the third unofficial Test against New Zealand 'A' said he was looking forward to the opportunity to play in the one-dayers against the visiting Kiwis. "I have not played much (in recent times) and even the three matches (the first class match) were a great opportunity to play. So it is the same with the one-day series.

I am looking forward to a good opportunity to play, spend some time in the middle and enjoy," said the 25-year-old. About his century in the last 'Test' against New Zealand 'A', Gaikwad said, "I think it was good because I got to spend some time in the middle. I was playing red ball after a long time so it was a bit