Ruturaj Gaikwad explains what leadership skills he has learnt from CSK captain MS Dhoni

Ruturaj Gaikwad will be leading Indian team for the Asian Games event in September.

Indian vice-captain for the Ireland T20I tour, Ruturaj Gaikwad, played a wonderful knock in the second T20I. Gaikwad scored a magnificent half-century. He smashed 58 runs in 43 balls, with six fours and one six. Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed as a deputy to Jasprit Bumrah for the Ireland tour to provide him with leadership exposure before the upcoming Asian Games. Ruturaj Gaikwad stabilized India’s innings along with wicket-keeper Sanju Samson (40). They both added 71 runs in 49 balls for the third wicket. Ruturaj Gaikwad has now opened up about the leadership expectations he is carrying on his shoulders.

'Leadership for me is to give maximum confidence,' Ruturaj Gaikwad on leadership

Ruturaj Gaikwad revealed that he is learning from MS Dhoni to not let expectations play any major part and not worry about the future. Gaikwad said, "I think leadership is a very complicated thing, to be honest. What Mahi bhai always says is to take it one game at a time. Just be in the present; don’t worry about the future. Everyone creates hype, whatever it is. I am not the kind of person who watches social media and hears what anyone is saying about me. I think this is one trait I learned from CSK."

Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is now part of the upcoming captain's group for team India. He will be leading the team at the upcoming Asian Games next month. Gaikwad has been given the responsibility of leading India’s second-string squad for the multi-national event. Gaikwad believes that leadership traits vary from player to player. He said, "Leadership for me is to give maximum confidence to the ten players who are playing. Make sure that I step into their shoes and think about what they are thinking and going through. Sometimes they have their plans and think about the game from their perspective, so I feel it is important to back them."

Ruturaj Gaikwad also did well in the first two T20I games against Ireland. He was going strong with a 19-run score when rain interrupted the game after a powerplay. Along with Ruturaj, India’s debutant in the series, Rinku Singh also did well in his maiden T20I innings for India. Talking about Rinku, Ruturaj said, "Rinku is already everyone’s favorite in the IPL. The way he has batted in the IPL, he has shown a lot of maturity." Rinku smashed 22 runs in the last five legal deliveries he faced. He scored 38 runs in 21 balls with two fours and three big sixes. The final T20I of the series will be played on Wednesday at the Village Ground in Malahide.