Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad had a young fan in stitches during a recent appearance, delivering a cheeky line that left even his teammates laughing. The clip, now making the rounds on social media, showed the fan asking whether Gaikwad was nervous about facing bouncers and beamers\u2014joking that such deliveries would be dealt with. \u201cWhat do you think about the bowlers? Are they fast? Aren\u2019t you scared? Because bouncers and beamers will be bowled,\u201d the youngster asked. Gaikwad\u2019s response turned the moment on its head: \u201cNo. I was scared till a couple of years back. But then I got married. Now I\u2019m more scared of my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
CSK\u2019s bowling coach Eric Simons then addressed another topic on Monday, clarifying that MS Dhoni has not travelled with the squad for the away match against Delhi Capitals. Simons also made it clear that while Dhoni remains on the road to full readiness, his progress has been steady despite missing action earlier this season due to a calf injury. With more than half the league campaign already completed, and CSK set to play their tenth match in a campaign that has not quite lived up to expectations, attention has naturally kept swinging back to the long-term future of the 44-year-old icon. Ever since his international retirement, speculation around Dhoni\u2019s IPL plans has been a constant.<\/p>\n
At the pre-match interaction, it was no surprise that the first question was about Dhoni, particularly because the veteran has been batting in the nets of late. Simons, however, kept things measured when asked about the next steps. \u201cUpdate on MS Dhoni is way above my pay grade. He\u2019s not with us (in Delhi), but he\u2019s steadily improving. He\u2019ll be ready when he\u2019s ready, and he knows when he\u2019s ready to play,\u201d Simons said.<\/p>\n
Simons also spoke about the bowling group\u2019s output and highlighted Anshul Kamboj\u2019s impact. The coach praised how Kamboj has contributed consistently across different phases, describing him as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps. He explained that Kamboj\u2019s progress extends beyond this season, pointing out that the work started last year and continued through the domestic stretch. \u201cAnshul you see today is not this season\u2014he started last year. The things that we worked on, he went into the domestic season and worked on different angles of approach to the crease to be more accurate with his yorkers in particular. We\u2019ve introduced round the wicket, which is no secret now,\u201d Simons said.<\/p>\n
According to Simons, the effectiveness around the wicket is not just a change in direction but a set of details that add up to results. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of nuances to what we\u2019re doing around the wicket that make him particularly effective. He\u2019s picked up wickets and been able to restrict the run rate as well. But I think what it really boils down to is his professionalism, the way that he trains,\u201d the coach added.<\/p>\n
He further elaborated on what makes Kamboj\u2019s preparation stand out, stressing clarity and simplicity in execution. \u201cIf you stood next to me and watched the way that he trains, the way that he understands what he\u2019s going to do, the simplicity I spoke about, the clarity\u2014 I think in the modern game a bowler needs to be clear about what he wants to do. He\u2019s very clear about his tactics, and he\u2019s very clear about what his field setting is. There\u2019s no grey area for him,\u201d Simons concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad had a young fan in stitches during a recent appearance, delivering a cheeky line that left even his teammates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ruturaj Gaikwad CSK Quip Sparks IPL Fan Jokes","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ruturaj Gaikwad\u2019s cheeky reply to a CSK fan about bouncers and beamers has the IPL crowd laughing\u2014watch the viral moment.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n