Ruturaj Gaikwad Biography – Career, Stats, IPL , & Records
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Ruturaj Gaikwad is a prominent Indian cricketer known for his stylish and composed batting at the top order, He made his international debut for India in 2021 and has since represented the country in ODIs and T20Is.
Gaikwad is the captain of Maharashtra in domestic cricket and was also the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2025 but due to some injury, he is ruled out of the IPL this season.
In the 2021 IPL season, Ruthuraj was the Orange Cap winner and was also named Emerging Player of the Season. He is also one of the first Indian to score a T20I century against Australia, which shows his ability on the global stage.
| Full name | Ruturaj Dashrat Gaikwad |
| Nickname | Rutu, Rocket Raja |
| Born | 31 January 1997 |
| Place | Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in |
| Jersey No | 31 |
| Batting Style | Right-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right arm off break |
| Playing Role | Opening Batter |
| Spouse | Utkarsha Pawar |
| National side | India (2021-present) |
| IPL | Chennai Super Kings |
| ODI debut | 6 October 2022 vs South Africa |
| T20I debut | 28 July 2021 vs Sri Lanka |
Early Life
Ruturaj Gaikwad was born on 31 January 1997 in Pune, Maharashtra. He grew up in the Sangvi area of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, and his mother tongue was Marathi. His father, Dasharath Gaikwad, worked at DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), and his mother, Sawita Gaikwad, was a schoolteacher in a municipal school.
Ruthuraj’s parents supported his cricketing passion and never pressured him in academics.
He attended his primary school at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Khadki, and completed college at Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s Polytechnic, Pune. He balanced his studies and cricket during his teens, which shows his dedication from an early age.
At the age of 13, he joined Varroc Dilip Vengsarkar Cricket Academy and gained attention with his performance in the 2010 Cadence Trophy by scoring 63* against MIG Cricket Club.
In 2015, he scored 306 runs and formed a 522-run partnership in the Maharashtra Invitational Tournament, which was his notable performance for the selection in different formats.
Domestic Career
At the early age of 13, Ruturaj Gaikwad played an impressive knock of 63 (71) in the 2010 Cadence Trophy and won the Man of the Match award. In the 2015 Maharashtra Invitational Tournament, scored 306 runs in a single innings with a 522-run partnership.
He made his first-class debut on 6 October 2016 for Maharashtra in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy. Later, on 2 February 2017, he made his T20 debut for Maharashtra in the Inter-State T20 Tournament, and also in the same month, he made his debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In 2022, Ruthuraj became the first batter to hit 7 sixes in an over (1 off a no-ball) during the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final against UP and ended the 2022–23 Vijay Hazare Trophy with a record 12 centuries, the most by any player in the tournament’s history.
Ruthuraj also represented India A, India B, India Blue, India U-23, and Maharashtra in various tournaments.
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International Career
Ruturaj Gaikwad made his T20I debut on 28th July 2021 against Sri Lanka; he scored a maiden T20I fifty against South Africa in June 2022 and was also one of the top scorers in the Ireland series with 77 runs in 2 matches.
In the 2022 Asian Games, Ruthuraj was named the captain of India’s T20I team, where he led India to win the gold medal, which was the first-ever gold medal for India in men’s cricket at the Asian Games. He also led the India T20I team as a vice-captain under Bumrah in the 2023 Ireland Series and also scored well in the series.
Ruthuraj made his ODI debut on 6 October 2022 against South Africa. He was part of India’s ODI squad against South Africa (Dec 2021), West Indies (Jan & July 2022), South Africa (Oct 2022), West Indies (June 2023), and Australia (Sept 2023 – first 2 ODIs).
Despite good performances in the Zimbabwe tour, he was not picked for the Sri Lanka tour (July 2024) due to heavy competition in the India team.
IPL Carrer
In the 2019 IPL auction, Ruthuraj was bought by CSK for Rs 20 lakhs. That year he did not get the chance to play. Later in 2020, he made his debut for the IPL in the second half of the IPL, where he scored 3 consecutive half-centuries, and in IPL 2021 scored his first IPL century against Rajasthan Royals. He also finished as the top scorer with 635 runs that season and won the Orange Cap.
Later in the 2022 mega auction, he was retained by CSK for 6 crores, and on 21 March 2024, MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy to Gaikwad until the IPL 2025 5th match. Ruthuraj was playing well by leading as a captain, but due to an elbow fracture, he was ruled out of the IPL this season.
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Batting Career Summary
| Format | M | Inn | Runs | BF | HS | Avg | SR | NO | 4s | 6s | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| Test | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 6 | 6 | 115 | 157 | 71 | 19.17 | 73.25 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 | 23 | 20 | 633 | 441 | 123 | 39.56 | 143.54 | 4 | 65 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| IPL | 71 | 70 | 2502 | 1820 | 108 | 40.35 | 137.48 | 8 | 231 | 95 | 20 | 2 | 0 |
Source: Cricbuzz.com
Records
- First Indian to score a T20I century against Australia: Smashed 123 (57) vs Australia in Nov 2023 – the highest T20I score by an Indian against Australia.
- Most Centuries in Vijay Hazare Trophy History (12): Holds the record for the most hundreds in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (as of 2023).
- First-ever batter to hit 7 sixes in an over: Achieved a unique record in 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy (6 legal sixes + 1 on a no-ball).
- Fastest CSK player to reach 1000 & 2000 IPL runs: Reached both 1000 and 2000 quicker than any other CSK batter.
- Only the 9th Indian to score a T20I century: Joined t this milestone with his 123-run knock against Australia.
