Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has urged Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad to think about impact and not volume of runs amid his batting struggles in IPL 2026. Giving the example of Virat Kohli, Jaffer added that Gaikwad has the ability to modify his game, but needs to change his mindset first.

CSK registered their first win in IPL 2026 by beating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 23 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, April 11. Batting first, CSK posted 212-2 on the board. While Sanju Samson hammered an unbeaten hundred, Gaikwad’s poor form continued as he was dismissed for 15 off 18 balls.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer suggested that Gaikwad needs to tweak his game mentally. The former India opener explained:

“He’s somebody who wants to score big. You know, being an opener, I don’t think you need to look at 80 or 100 from the outset. I think you need to look at giving a terrific start, the kind of start the openers want. He’s not somebody who is going at a 200-plus strike rate. If he’s asked to push the scoring rate, I think he needs to take a lot more risk. He’s got the game. He’s got hundreds in the IPL. But he just, I feel, holds himself [back].

“I feel he plays with that tunnel vision of scoring big. We’ve seen [Virat] Kohli do that: change his game. He’s a different Kohli to what we saw at the start of his career. I am sure Ruturaj can do it [but] he needs to put the impact [first], not think about bulk of runs,” the 48-year-old added.

Before his early dismissal against DC, Gaikwad had registered scores of 6, 28 & 7 in CSK’s first three matches in IPL 2026.

“He’s doing neither” – Aaron Finch on CSK skipper’s struggles

Former Australian captain Aaron Finch has stated that Gaikwad seems to be stuck in a rut as he is neither scoring quickly nor is he getting big scores to make a significant impact in IPL 2026 matches. Sharing his views on the CSK skipper’s performance so far, Finch told ESPNcricinfo:

“It’s okay to have a player like that in your side, like Shubman Gill, if he’s batting with somebody who is a bit of a cowboy at the other end, somebody who’s striking at 200-plus. If he goes on to get 60s and 70s and sets up the middle order or bats with a middle order where he can control, if need be, he gets off strike and gets somebody on strike who can really take them on… But he’s doing neither. He’s not getting off to a flyer and he’s not getting big enough scores to have a significant impact on games.”

Gaikwad has played 75 matches in his IPL career, all of them for CSK. The right-handed batter has scored 2,558 runs at an average of 38.75 and an economy rate of 136.49, with two hundreds and 20 half-centuries.