Ruturaj Gaikwad was ‘Thala for a reason’ even before the trend arrived, his Insta story for Dhoni biggest proof

It's no secret that Ruturaj Gaikwad and MS Dhoni share a strong bond. Gaikwad was handpicked by Dhoni to lead Chennai Super Kings after he finally decided to pass on the baton ahead of IPL 2024. In fact, Dhoni was instrumental in backing Gaikwad when the talented right-hander did not get off to a good start in the first few matches that he played for CSK in his debut season in IPL 2020. It was, therefore, not a surprise when Gaikwad found a Dhoni connection for his T20I cap.

Hours after India beat Zimbabwe in the third T20I by 23 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, Gaikwad posted a photo of his T20I cap with the caption: "I am ahead of the trend". He meticulously placed the cap to highlight the No. 88 on his cap, indicating that he was the 88th Indian player in T20Is. Unlike a jersey number, a cricketer cannot choose his cap number. It is chronological.

To tease the fans, Gaikwad also wrote a mathematical equation to find the Dhoni connection, which is popularly known as "Thala for a reason" among fans. "8=8=16. 1+6= Yellove".

The 88-numbered T20I cap was awarded to Ruturaj when he made his India debut in this format. The opener indicated that he was part of the “Thala for reason” trend even before it arrived.

The No.7 jersey was immortalised by Dhoni. BCCI even retired the number, meaning no cricketer can opt for that number on an Indian jersey. It was only the second number after Sachin Tendulkar's No. 10.

Gaikwad's gesture came three days after Dhoni's 43rd birthday.

Gaikwad has been in good form in the Zimbabwe series. He jumped 13 spots to break into the top 10 of ICC T20I rankings for batters for the first time in his career on the back of his unbeaten 77 in the second T20I and an equally good 49 in the third match.

After an unexpected defeat in the series opener, the young Indian side under Shubman Gill has been firing all cylinders. They won the second match by 100 runs to draw the series and then took the third match by 23 runs.

Gill (66 off 49), Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 off 27) and Gaikwad (49 off 28) propelled India to 182 for four against Zimbabwe after the visitors opted to bat on a fresh pitch.

Zimbabwe were never really in the run chase despite an entertaining effort from number four Dion Myers (65 not out 49), ending at 159 for six in their stipulated 20 overs.

The fourth T20 of the five-match series will be staged in Harare on Saturday, July 13.