Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has urged Ruturaj Gaikwad to think about the impact and not the amount of runs amid his struggling form in the ongoing IPL 2026. The CSK captain was dismissed after scoring 15 runs off 18 balls against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday.
Gaikwad has managed only 56 runs in four matches of the tournament at an average of 14 and a strike rate of 103.70. Meanwhile, CSK won their first match of IPL 2026 as they registered a 23-run win after Sanju Samson scored a blistering century.
Jaffer said Gaikwad needs to take more risks to up his scoring rate.
Wasim Jaffer said on ESPN Cricinfo, “He’s somebody who wants to score big. You know, being an opener, I don’t think you need to look at 80 or 100 from the outset. I think you need to look at giving a terrific start, the kind of start the openers want. He’s not somebody who is going at a 200-plus strike rate. If he’s asked to push the scoring rate, I think he needs to take a lot more risk. He’s got the game. He’s got hundreds in the IPL. But he just, I feel, holds himself [back].
“I feel he plays with that tunnel vision of scoring big. We’ve seen [Virat] Kohli do that: change his game. He’s a different Kohli to what we saw at the start of his career. I am sure Ruturaj can do it [but] he needs to put the impact [first], not think about bulk of runs,” the 48-year-old added.
On the other hand, former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said Gaikwad is neither scoring runs nor he is making an impact.
“It’s okay to have a player like that in your side, like Shubman Gill, if he’s batting with somebody who is a bit of a cowboy at the other end, somebody who’s striking at 200-plus. If he goes on to get 60s and 70s and sets up the middle order or bats with a middle order where he can control, if need be, he gets off strike and gets somebody on strike who can really take them on… But he’s doing neither. He’s not getting off to a flyer and he’s not getting big enough scores to have a significant impact on games.”
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday.
