Ruturaj Gaikwad boasts third-best average in IPL history: Key stats
What's the story
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, are gearing up for a major transformation in the 2026 edition. The team's transition from experience to youth was evident at the mini-auction as they went all out for promising talents. Meanwhile, team skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad will have the onus to lead from the front to change CSK's fortunes. On this note, let's look at his stellar IPL numbers.
Career
Gaikwad only behind Rahul and Warner
Having played 71 IPL games, all for CSK since his debut in 2020, Gaikwad has scored 2,502 runs at an impressive average of 40.35, as per ESPNcricinfo. Among batters with at least 2,000 runs in the competition, only KL Rahul (46.21) and David Warner (40.52) boast better averages. Gaikwad's strike rate of 137.47 is also pretty impressive.
Records
Gaikwad ranks among fastest to 2,000 IPL runs
The 2024 IPL saw Gaikwad become the fastest Indian to breach the 2,000-run mark in IPL history. He did so in a mere 57 innings. This puts him third overall in the list of fastest to reach the landmark, with only Chris Gayle (48 innings) and Shaun Marsh (52 innings) ahead of him. Meanwhile, Gaikwad is currently CSK's fourth-highest run-getter in IPL history. He is only behind legends like MS Dhoni (4865), Suresh Raina (4,687), and Faf du Plessis (2,721).
Tally
22 scores of 50 or more
Gaikwad has breached the 50-run mark 22 times in IPL. Only Raina has more such scores for the Super Kings (34). The current CSK skipper shares the second place with MS Dhoni. Meanwhile, Gaikwad, Murali Vijay, and Shane Watson are the only batters to hammer multiple hundreds in CSK colors (2 each). Overall, Gaikwad has five 90-plus scores in IPL. No other CSK batter has more than three.
Orange Cap
Orange cap in 2021
Gaikwad's standout season was in 2021 when he scored 635 runs in 16 matches at an average of 45.35 and strike rate of 136.26. The batter won the 'Orange Cap' for most runs and led his team to its fourth IPL title. He became the third CSK player to win the Orange Cap, following Matthew Hayden (2009) and Michael Hussey (2013).