Ruturaj gets a taste of hero-worship

The ongoing first round of Duleep Trophy matches have given us unexpected heroes in Musheer Khan and Shreyas Iyer.

But there was more surprise in store with hero-worshipping of one of India's young stars.

In the Duleep Trophy 2024 match between India C and India D at the RDT Stadium in Anantapur on Friday, a pitch invader rushed onto the field to touch Ruturaj Gaikwad’s feet. Gaikwad, who is leading the India C side in the tournament, maintained his composure, helped the fan to his feet and shook his hand.

The gesture was reminiscent of fan reverence in a similar manner for Gaikwad's Chennai Super Kings teammate and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. During the 2023 IPL match between CSK and Gujarat Titans, a fan breached security and touched Dhoni's feet.

Gaikwad, who led CSK in the 2024 season has become a household name with his consistent show in white ball cricket since his IPL debut in 2020. In his first season as the side's skipper, CSK narrowly failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing fifth in the league stage.

He also led India to victory in the Asian Games last year.

In the Duleep Trophy first round match, he scored just five runs in the first innings, but chasing 233 for victory, on Saturday, Day 3 of the contest, the Maharashtra lad scored 46 runs from 48 balls to give a strong start to their chase for victory.