CSK star Ruturaj Gaikwad opts out of County Championship deal due to ‘Personal reasons’

In a shocking outcome, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) star and former Indian player Ruturaj Gaikwad has opted out of the final part of the County Championship for Yorkshire because of some ‘personal reasons’.

The 28-year-old had previously agreed to have a deal to play five matches– which began with the match against reigning champions Surrey at Scarborough from July 22. But now, Yorkshire have confirmed in a statement that Gaikwad will not be available.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was set to make his debut against reigning champions Surrey, and then stay with the Yorkshire team until the end of season. However, following his revelation of pulling out, the team’s head coach Anthony McGrath stated that the county are now working with their options to find a suitable replacement.

“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 McGrath.

“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,” he added.

Ruturaj Gaikwad had a reasonably short time in the national side, as he played only 6 ODIs and 23 T20Is while sporting the Indian jersey. He was also a part of the Indian Premier League 2025 as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, but his time at the tournament was also cut short because of an injury.

(Written with inputs from Press Trust of India)