Ruturaj Gaikwad has made his comeback after an injury. And this time, he looks much stronger than ever, scoring centuries whenever he wants. His form continues to be even better, as he scored a ton in the India A match against South Africa A.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has made his comeback after an injury. And this time, he looks much stronger than ever, scoring centuries whenever he wants. His form continues to be even better, as he scored a ton in the India A match against South Africa A.
If there is an award for cricket comeback after injury, Ruturaj Gaikwad would be among the top names for it. He got himself injured in IPL 2025 and went on to miss out on the majority of the season. Still, when he made his comeback, he made the fans forget that he was even out of action for some time.
Playing for India A in the unofficial ODI against South Africa A, Ruturaj Gaikwad played a match winning knock for the team. Scoring a century, Gaikwad has now marked his fourth ton over the last few months since he has made his comeback to the game.
1. Gaikwad’s Injury
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the skipper of Chennai Super Kings, didn’t have a good time in the IPL 2025 edition. When the team went against Rajasthan Royals, Gaikwad suffered an injury which ruled him out of the tournament. He suffered a fracture in his elbow, but didn’t know about the seriousness of his injury.
Following this, he went on to play two more games for the team in IPL 2025. When the pain grew, tests were conducted and Gaikwad was eventually ruled out of the tournament. In his place, MS Dhoni took over the captaincy of the team for the remainder of the season. Chennai Super Kings overall had a bad season, as they finished last in the standings.
In IPL 2025, Gaikwad was a part of Chennai Super Kings for just five games, which is the least he has played over the past few seasons. Despite having such less appearances, he finished with 122 runs including a half-century for the team. Moreover, his strike rate stood above 150, showcasing his aggressive batting style for the team.
2. Gaikwad’s Domestic Return
Following his injury, Ruturaj Gaikwad took some time to mark his return. He played for Maharashtra in the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, and decided to dominate for the team in the match against Himachal Pradesh. In this game, Gaikwad also marked his comeback from injury in a strong style.
Previously, the team had faced Chhattisgarh, where Gaikwad registered low scores. But in the match against Himachal Pradesh, he went on to score 133 runs off 144 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes. He had a 220-run stand with Arshin Kulkarni, which played an important role for the team.
Later, he was also a part of West Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Gaikwad played for the team in the second semi-final match against Central Zone. Batting first, he went on to score 184 runs in the first innings. This score also came at a time when the top-order batsmen failed to score runs for the team.
Despite his best efforts, West Zone ended up losing the game and were knocked out of the tournament. But Gaikwad continued his red hot form in the Ranji Trophy. In the first match against Kerala, he went on to score 91 runs in the first innings, which was followed by a half-century in the next innings.
This was followed by yet another impressive knock by Gaikwad in the match against Chandigarh. Gaikwad went on to score 116 runs in the first innings, and remained not out in the second. With this, he was able to mark his comeback in the longer formats of the game.
3. Gaikwad vs South Africa A
India is now preparing for the ODI series against South Africa, which will start from 30 November. At the same time, India A has started its unofficial ODI series against South Africa A, which will be a three match series to be played at Rajkot. The first match of the same was played, and Gaikwad helped India A to come out on top.
South Africa A batted first in this game, and went on to score 285 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Dian Forrester and Delano Potgieter played some crucial knocks which helped the team to reach this score. Now for India A to chase the same, Ruturaj Gaikwad came to open along with Abhishek Sharma.
While wickets kept falling consistently at the other end, Gaikwad maintained his calm and composure for the team. He went on to score 117 runs off 129 balls with 12 fours, which helped India A to chase down the total successfully. Gaikwad also received the POTM award for his brilliant knock in the game.
