What’s special about Ruturaj Gaikwad?
One of the reasons for India’s failure at the 2021 T20 World Cup was their inability to attack spinners. This has been a familiar theme in the recent past in limited overs cricket where India may not have collapsed against spin bowling but have shown either reluctance or ineptness at taking on spinners, and in fact, the middle overs phase in general.
There has been plenty of buzz around Ruturaj Gaikwad since his Orange Cap winning season at IPL 2021. The 25-year old followed it up with an outstanding Vijay Hazare Trophy as well where he again emerged as the leading run-scorer. He has since been a part of India’s ODI and T20I squads but two debut appearances on the tour of Sri Lanka aside, Ruturaj is yet to nail his spot in the full strength XI. There have been calls from fans and experts to make the most of his current form, but what is it that makes him a special talent to watch out for?
An aspect of his batting that has grabbed attention is his range against spin bowling. Let us take a look at his numbers against spin at IPL 2021:
With a Strike Rate of 154 and BpB of 4.66, Ruturaj finds himself in the elite bracket of batters who strike at greater than 140 and take fewer than 6 balls to hit a boundary against spinners. In fact, only Prithvi Shaw has a better SR at a similar BpB ratio. Where Ruturaj stands well clear of anyone else is his prolific average of 54 as compared to Shaw’s 25, Maxwell’s 44, and Moeen Ali’s 17.
Extending the data to batters in the past two editions of the IPL as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, following are the numbers:
Ruturaj’s standing on this chart is impressive too- not only does he strike at 138 against spin, he averages nearly 53 showing his low dismissal rate. No batter in the list scores at a greater clip with an equivalent average, and neither does anyone possess a better average with an equivalent strike rate.
But the exciting part of Ruturaj’s batting doesn’t end here. It is the exceptional intent he shows in the middle overs that sets him apart from a lot of other batters who are otherwise identified as ‘anchors’ due to their high average and tendency to bat for long periods in an innings.
The above chart shows why Ruturaj is a middle overs monster; he strikes at a fearsome 148 yet averages a solid 45. Only four batters score at a faster clip than him and the next best average among them is Sanju Samson’s 42. It is noteworthy that most of the Indian batters to have played T20Is for India in this period find themselves outside the top bracket due to moderate strike rates.
But there is a pressing reason why Ruturaj is yet to become a complete T20 batter- his returns in the powerplay. Being an opener with a healthy average, he often bats through the first six overs but rarely creates enough impact and relies upon his partner to keep up the scoring rate.
As evident above, Ruturaj is at the worst end of both metrics; no other batter in the cutoff has a lower strike rate and faces more balls per boundary in the powerplay.
If he converts his starts into big scores, Ruturaj may make up for being slow off the blocks, but this is a dated approach in modern T20 cricket given the risk of him getting out just after the powerplay which could result in his innings having a negative impact on the team total.
Ruturaj offers a skillset distinct from most other T20 batters in India- he accelerates incredibly well in the middle overs and is destructive against spin, but is alarmingly conservative when the field restrictions are in place. As things stand, he is unlikely to make it to India’s setup in the shortest format and that is justified given India’s scoring rate woes in the powerplay. To give himself the best chance, he would need to improve upon his approach and boundary-hitting ability in the first six overs of an innings. A shift in position to no.3 could also be an option to consider.
In T20 terminology, he would qualify as an ‘anchor’ batter, but is a contemporary anchor who marries attack with consolidation in the middle overs. His batting tempo is probably more suited to ODI cricket as of now since the format allows him to build an innings much better.
Ruturaj is undoubtedly a star in the making and if early signs are anything to go by, he has all the makings of a prolific limited overs batter. All he needs to do is extend his run-minting spree and iron out the few chinks in his armour along the way.
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