Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

Covid-19 has made me tough says Ruturaj Gaikwad | Ruturaj Gaikwad has made quite the impression, and he puts it down to strength from difficulty

Although Chennai Super Kings is out of the playoffs race, the last few games has given way to a new and interesting cricketer – Ruturaj Gaikwad. After his second match-winning 50 in as many games, team captain MS Dhoni said he’s one of the most talented players going around. When the CSK squad landed in UAE around 11 of them had tested positive for Covid-19 one of them was Gaikwad.

While others took 12 days to recover, he took around 20 days to test negative which was the main factor why he got less chances to feature in the first half of the tournament. “Rituraj has shown the talent that we had seen in the net sessions, but unfortunately he came in, got positive with Covid-19 and you usually get well in 12 days but it took him 20 days and we didn’t have much time to look at him. At the end of the day, he will really remember this season because he was able to showcase the talent he has. He is among the most talented youngsters going around, especially the way he batted last few games”, Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.

Even Gaikwad admitted that dealing with Covid-19 was difficult. “I’ve backed myself because both innings I got out when the situations were a little tough. I knew if I get the opportunity to open and get my time, I would do well. So the confidence was there. Covid has made me tough. Our captain always says to face any situation with a smile. It was difficult but I tried to do it. It made me stay in the present”, he said.

He was awarded the Man of the Match last night for his excellent innings against Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai.

Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.