After earning an India call up for the tour of Sri Lanka, Ruturaj Gaikwad has recalled a conversation he had with his Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni where the former Indian skipper suggested him to enjoy the moment instead of putting himself under a lot of pressure.
Giving a detailed account of his conversation, Gaikwad said that Dhoni made him relaxed and calmer by not putting the onus of winning the games for the Chennai Super Kings on his shoulder.
"He said 'you have already been through a lot due to Covid-19. As a captain, I am not expecting too much from you. We have given you the opportunity not to show who you are at this point but to play for CSK, a great franchise, and enjoy your time' because you'll never know what will happen next. Make sure you enjoy the opportunities. If you're putting pressure on yourself, you are adding it to yourself. We, as management, aren't expecting anything, we just want you to go out there and enjoy for now and gain experience. I think it helped me a lot, it helped me relax a little bit and made me feel calmer,” Gaikwad told India Today.
Although he did not talk with Dhoni about the dreams of playing for India in a specific conversation, Gaikwad recalled that Dhoni reminded him of his ‘potential and capacity.’
"Not really we discussed (India hopes) but one or two times he has mentioned that I have the potential and I have the capacity. He said 'you don't have to think about one particular tournament or one particular season. You have to think of playing for India, you have ample time. You have to keep thinking about it and how you are going to reach there and how you can sustain there,'” Gaikwad added.
Gaikwad has had a stellar run for form from the latter half of the IPL 2021 and followed it up with promising innings in the tournament earlier this year before he was picked for the tour of Sri Lanka in an unexpected call, even for himself.