Chennai Super Kings: Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has called on Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad to adopt a higher-risk approach with the bat, stating that his current conservative style is preventing him from pushing the scoring rate required in T20 cricket.
Gaikwad’s slow start to IPL 2026 has seen him make only 56 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 103.70. Those numbers have sparked debate over his role at the top of the order for CSK. "He's somebody who wants to score big. You know, being an opener, I don't think you need to look at (trying to get) 80 or 100 from the outset.
“I think you need to look at giving a terrific start, the kind of start the openers want. He's not somebody who is going at a 200-plus strike rate. If he's asked to push the scoring rate, I think he needs to take a lot more risk. He's got the game. He's got hundreds in the IPL. But he just, I feel, holds himself (back)," said Jaffer on ESPNCricinfo.
Echoing these sentiments, former Australia opener Aaron Finch stated that Gaikwad is currently caught in a tactical limbo, as he is neither providing a flying start nor batting deep enough to control the game. "It's okay to have a player like that in your side, like Shubman Gill, if he's batting with somebody who is a bit of a cowboy at the other end, somebody who's striking at 200-plus.
“If he goes on to get 60s and 70s and sets up the middle order or bats with a middle order where he can control (the innings) if need be, he gets off strike and gets somebody on strike who can really take them on... But he's doing neither. He's not getting off to a flyer and he's not getting big enough scores to have a significant impact on games," he said.
Finch also stated that Gaikwad needs to prioritize ‘impact’ over making a truckload of runs. "You have to be in the right mindset to be able to play like that because you have to remember, probably for 25 years, his game and his focus has been so narrow on bulk runs, 'get runs, runs, runs'.
“If he goes on to get 60s and 70s and sets up the middle order or bats with a middle order where he can control (the innings) if need be, he gets off strike and gets somebody on strike who can really take them on... But he's doing neither. He's not getting off to a flyer and he's not getting big enough scores to have a significant impact on games," he said.
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Jaffer concluded by urging Gaikwad to take inspiration from how talismanic RCB batter Virat Kohli shifted his gears. "I just feel that he plays with that tunnel vision of scoring big. We've seen (Virat) Kohli do that: change his game. He's a different Kohli to what we saw at the start of his career. I am sure Ruturaj can do it (but) he needs to put the impact (first), not think about bulk of runs."