In what would certainly be a late blow to Yorkshire’s plans, India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has pulled out of his maiden County Championship stint just days before he was set to debut. The 28-year-old was due to play five matches for the club, starting with their Division One clash against reigning champions Surrey at Scarborough from July 22. However, he denied his availability to the team just a couple of days before the match.
Gaikwad is out due to …
Yorkshire confirmed Gaikwad’s withdrawal on Thursday, stating only that he would not be joining “for personal reasons.” The development has left the club scrambling for a replacement. On a lighter note, what Gaikwad has done is similar to what some English players used to do after joining the IPL.
Anthony McGrath, the head coach of Surrey, said he was disappointed by Gaikwad’s decision to leave and that the team would search for a replacement, but he wasn’t sure if they would have enough time.
“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. We’re working behind the scenes on what we can do,” McGrath said.
“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 concluded.
Tough luck for Gaikwad & Yorkshire
The decision is a setback not just for Yorkshire, but also for Gaikwad, who was eyeing red-ball exposure after being left out of India’s Test squad for the England tour. Though part of the India A setup earlier this summer, Gaikwad didn’t get any game time against the England Lions either. In fact, the last professional game he played was over three months ago, before he was ruled out of the IPL 2025 due to an elbow injury.
The Chennai Super Kings skipper played only five matches in IPL 2025 and it was MS Dhoni who led the team for the remaining season. A return to competitive cricket with Yorkshire was seen as an ideal platform to keep his red-ball skills sharp ahead of the Indian domestic season.
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