How Did CSK Scout And Sign Ruturaj Gaikwad: Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings’ Chief Executive Officer Kasi Viswanathan has revealed how the franchise scouted and managed to sign their current captain Ruturaj Gaikwad in the IPL 2025 auction.
After years of top-notch performances in yellow, Gaikwad was named the CSK captain in 2024 as the franchise looked to move on from their long-time skipper, MS Dhoni, who still captained the side till 2023 despite having retired from international cricket for three years at that point.
How Did CSK Scout And Sign Ruturaj Gaikwad In 2019
Ruturaj was acquired by the Super Kings for his base price of Rs. 20 lakh in the 2019 auction. He did not get to play a single game that season in which his team reached the final and lost to the Mumbai Indians by 1 run. The 28-year-old made his IPL debut in the 2020 season and was one of the very few good performers for his side as Chennai failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time in history.
After impressing in a few games in 2020, Gaikwad became a full-time member of CSK’s playing 11 as the team went on to pick their fourth IPL title. He remained the most promising player on his side until, in 2024, he became the team captain and led the Super Kings to a fifth-placed finish in the league.
In a documentary named “The Making Of Ruturaj Gaikwad,” which was released on CSK’s YouTube channel, franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan revealed how the team scouted and acquired their current captain at a base price six years ago.
“Our scouting team, consisting of Sharath and Sunil Oasis, all of them were watching domestic cricket. The feedback we got from mostly Sharath was that here is one player who is going to be the future. And if you are looking at a future player for CSK, you should look at Ruturaj. So that is how we thought we would go in for Rutu in the auction, and we got him at base price,” he explained.
Today, Ruturaj Gaikwad is not only the captain of the Chennai Super Kings; he also leads the Maharashtra Cricket Team across all formats and competitions in domestic cricket. He is also a semi-regular part of the Indian Cricket Team, for which he has played and impressed on several occasions. He also captained India to a gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Gaikwad now prepares to lead five-time champions CSK as they look to win IPL 2025 and add a sixth trophy to their cabinet. Their campaign will commence on the evening of Sunday, March 23, in a blockbuster game against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
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