Former Indian opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has slammed the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for being extremely selfish towards his personal intentions during the IPL 2025 season.
Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Ramesh asserted that Gaikwad batted at No.3 in IPL 2025 with the intention of returning to the national team. Ramesh lashed out at Ruturaj for not prioritising the franchise that signed him for INR 18 Crore as a skipper.
“Where he disappointed me most was in IPL 2025. That season, he played only five matches but never opened. We never saw the Conway-Gaikwad opening combination. Despite shining as an opener in the IPL, Ruturaj was hell-bent on batting at No.3 that season,” Ramesh said on his YouTube channel.
“The main reason for that was that he decided Shubman Gill’s comeback into the team closed his door. Because of that, he wanted to bat at No.3 to try and get into the Indian team that way, and that badly hurt CSK. You have to first think for the franchise that signed you for 18 crores, especially as a captain,” he added.
“His first priority as captain had to be ensuring he bats in the position that’s most beneficial for CSK. When a franchise has trusted you with captaincy, your mind has to first operate on how to achieve success here,” he noted.
Ruturaj, who took over the CSK captaincy ahead of the IPL 2024 season, could win only eight out of 22 games overall. In the most recent IPL 2026 season, CSK ended eighth with 12 points from 14 matches. Additionally, Ramesh reckoned that there are no high moments for Ruturaj as CSK skipper.
“Having changed the head coach, the next question is whether Ruturaj Gaikwad will be replaced as captain. Forget the numbers, but if you just look at high moments as captain, he has none in my eyes. He has led for more than two seasons, which means he has been given a proper opportunity to shine as captain. But he rarely shone as captain,” Ramesh concluded.
