CSK’s Batting Coach Michael Hussey Explains Why Ruturaj Gaikwad Didn’t Open

When everyone was hoping to see Ruturaj Gaikwad walking out to bat alongside Rachin Ravindra, CSK sprung up a surprise against Mumbai Indians on March 23 (Sunday). The five-time IPL winners promoted their new signing, Rahul Tripathi, to open the innings, prompting quite a surprise.

It left everyone bamboozled, as CSK’s batting coach, Michael Hussey, explained the rationale behind the promotion. The former CSK batter insisted that they wanted to maximise on Tripathi’s exploits in the powerplay, with the Maharashtrian batter smashing at a strike rate of 140.7. 

“Good question, what we discussed a lot. Hopefully, [Rahul] Tripathi is someone who can make an impact for us in the powerplay. We know Ruturaj Gaikwad’s quality; he’s someone who gives us control in the middle overs, and we are looking at him to control the proceedings,” Hussey explained during the clash. 

Earlier in the day, it was quite a CSK debut for Noor Ahmad, who registered figures of 4/18, the best-ever figures for a CSK spinner on debut. Hussey was certainly pleased with how spin has returned to play a huge part in IPL 2025. 

“Certainly, we have a good home advantage and three quality spinners. Very happy to see them come to the party,” he added. 

On the night, CSK’s skipper played quite an aggressive innings, smashing his fastest IPL half-century off just 22 balls, where he smashed eight boundaries in the powerplay. However, minutes after getting to this half-century, Gaikwad holed out to long-off fielder Will Jacks. 

“He’s [Gaikwad] a quality player, he’s very calm at the crease, he’s a very difficult guy to bowl to, he’s great against pace and spin. I like his attitude as well; he’s very calm and collected. Hopefully, we can see another big performance from him.”