Not Abhishek Sharma! Harsha Bhogle calls Ruturaj Gaikwad the 'next superstar' of Indian cricket

Ruturaj Gaikwad had a good T20I series against Zimbabwe where he finished with 133 runs at an average of 66.50 and a strike rate touching 160.

He played four matches against Zimbabwe and batted in three of them. Gaikwad scored 7. 77* and 49 in the three matches that he batted. He has shown good responsibility with the bat while batting at number three. With Virat Kohli retired, he is an ideal replacement for Kohli at number three.

With too much competition for the opener's slot, Gaikwad is the perfect candidate to bat at three. He has a calm head on his shoulders and can also anchor the innings like he did in the two innings where he got big scores.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's purple patch started from IPL 2024 where he scored 583 runs from 14 games and ended as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament. He averaged 53.00 in the tournament.

Recently, Harsha Bhogle in a conversation with Cricbuzz spoke very highly of him saying that he is batting on a different level and is the next superstar.

Harsha Bhogle On Ruturaj Gaikwad

"If you came out of nowhere, saw Ruturaj Gaikwad batting in his last 3-4 matches and you say if he doesn't make it to the team, then this Indian team must be from another planet. He's the next superstar" he said on Cricbuzz.

With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from T20Is, Gaikwad surely has a chance to cement his place in the side at least as a number-three batter. He is a specialist opening batsman but might need to adjust his game batting at number three. He did that beautifully in the series against Zimbabwe.

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His performances should help him retain his place in the side for the series against Sri Lanka. He did not find a place in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad but certainly can challenge a few spots for the 2026 edition of the tournament.

He led the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024. Though the team did not make it to the knockouts, in Gaikwad, the CSK had found a long-term skipper after MS Dhoni. The Indian management should also keep a close eye on his leadership skills and potentially groom him for that role. He has been a consistent run-getter in the IPL and thrived on run-scoring even in his captaincy role which adds another aspect to his game.

Amit Mishra Backs Ruturaj Gaikwad Over Shubman Gill As Next India Captain

Meanwhile, Amit Mishra in his recent interaction with Shubhankar Mishra also spoke about the recently concluded T20I series in Zimbabwe. Speaking about Gaikwad, he said that he is a better option for a leadership role in the Indian team than Shubman Gill. His comments came after India won the T20I series under Gill's captaincy.

"The Indian team made him (Gill) the captain as they want to give him the leadership experience, which wasn't visible when he led Gujarat Titans in IPL," he said.

"There's Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad who can lead India in T20Is," Mishra said on the viable options of future captains.

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