‘The dream would be to win gold medal, stand on the podium’ - Ruturaj Gaikwad reacts after being named India captain for Asian Games 2023

Young India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as captain of the men's cricket team for the forthcoming Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8. The announcement of the squad has witnessed Rinku Singh and Prabhsimran Singh earning their maiden call-ups for the national side.

After being appointed as the captain, Gaikwad expressed his delight at the opportunity to lead the national team. The 26-year-old thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the selectors for providing him with this priceless opportunity to lead the team in an event like the Asian Games, adding that playing for India itself is a tremendous feeling for him. 

He also said that the team is packed with youngsters and they can do well during the event as they have played against each other and together in the franchise leagues as well as in the India A teams. He continued by saying that his dream would be to win the gold medal, stand on the podium and sing the national anthem.

"Really thankful for this opportunity by the BCCI, the management and the selectors. The dream would be to win the gold medal, stand on the podium and sing the national anthem for the country,” said Gaikwad.

Watch the video:

🗣️ “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒍, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚”

A happy and proud @Ruutu1331 is excited to lead #TeamIndia at the #AsianGames 😃 pic.twitter.com/iPZfVU2XW8

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 15, 2023

Ruturaj has had an unforgettable IPL campaign with the title winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2023 season. The youngster finished the 2023 season as CSK's second-highest run-scorer, having scored 590 runs, including four half-centuries, at a strike rate of 147.50 and an average of 42.14. Furthermore, he has amassed 135 runs at an average of 16.87 and a strike rate of 123.85 in nine T20I appearances.