'Learnt A lot From MS Dhoni, But...': Ruturaj Gaikwad 'Hails' Captain Cool

image-ln8m29oaMS Dhoni alongside Ruturaj [Twitter]

Set to captain the young Indian squad travelling to Hangzhou, China for the men's Asian Games T20I challenge, promising opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked if his brand of captaincy would have traits taken as inspiration from the book of the legendary MS Dhoni.

 Gaikwad responded with an interesting take by underlining his style of leadership and how he retains a unique personality to that of the great Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper. 

The youngster showed maturity beyond his years when he said he would look to imbibe the qualities that make Dhoni an incredibly successful captain but without trying to replicate his ways and decision-making on the field as Indian captain for Asiad.


Here's what Ruturaj said

 "I got to learn a lot of things from him (Dhoni) but every person has a different style. His style is different, his personality is different and my personality is a bit different," Gaikwad told the press during a media interaction.

"I will try to be myself and not really look at what he usually does. Obviously, yes you have to pick out some things that he does really well, how he handles situations and how he handles particular players during a match," Gaikwad added

Stand-in India coach VVS Laxman looked forward to the challenge at hand and expressed a sense of excitement about playing cricket for the first time in China. The Indian batting great said Gaikwad and the rest of the fresh-looking squad are "eager" to prove themselves on the big stage and bring the gold medal home. 

"It is a much different setup. We (would) have not even thought that we will come and play cricket in China. It is a great opportunity for the entire team," Laxman said.

The NCA Director of Cricket also spoke of how stories of struggles faced and triumphs achieved by athletes from other sports part of the Asian Games are acting as an inspiration for his players. 

"In cricket, we have the World Cup, the IPL and domestic tournaments. We are used to that kind of environment and situations. But coming here and going to the village, we really got to know about the athletes — what kinds of struggle they go through," Laxman said.

India will commence their Asian Games campaign in the quarter-finals against Nepal on October 3.