Chennai Super Kings captain and India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has pulled out of his county championship deal with Yorkshire at the last moment due to personal reasons. He signed up a contract last month but now has backed out citing personal reasons.
Gaikwad is nowhere close to selection with the Indian cricket team and hence this county stint would have been helpful for him, especially with the Indian team also playing a series in England.
In many ways, it is an opportunity lost for the young batter in his effort to make it back to the Indian team across formats. The Indian team management is bending towards having young players in the side and Gaikwad’s decision to pull out of a county stint came at the wrong time for him. Previously, the likes of Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan and Sarfaraz Khan performed well in domestic cricket.
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We've Literally Just Found Out - Yorkshire Coach On Gaikwad's Pullout
The Yorkshire head coach issued a statement on Gaikwad’s pull out, saying that they were not informed of his decision until the last minute. He further said that not having it for the rest of the season is disappointing, while adding that he cannot reveal the reasons behind his withdrawal.
“Unfortunately Gaikwad’s not coming now for personal reasons. We’re not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. So that’s disappointing. I can’t tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything’s ok. We’ve literally just found out” said Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath.
The head coach further said that as a team, they are doing the best possible to find a replacement within a short time but it looks difficult at this point.
“We’re working behind the scenes on what we can do. But it’s only two or three days away, so I’m not sure what we can do at the moment. “We’re working to try and get a possible replacement, but time pressure is the issue. I can’t give you anything more than that at the moment,” Mcgrath added.
At the time oof signing the contract, Ruturaj Gaikwad seemed very excited about the prospect and said that he is looking forward to play at Yorkshire.
“I’m excited to be joining up with Yorkshire for the rest of the English domestic season. It has always been a goal of mine to experience cricket in this country and there is no bigger Club in England than Yorkshire” Gaikwad has said.
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Gaikwad's Tough Run In Domestic Cricket
The CSK captain has been out of competitive cricket since the end of IPL 2025, where he was ruled out midway after suffering a fractured elbow. Overall, Gaikwad’s numbers are not overwhelming as he has scored 2632 runs in 38 matches averaging just above 40. In the 2024-25 domestic season in India, Gaikwad tallied 571 runs in 12 innings with a just one century.
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