Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad entered the Indian cricket fan's consciousness with a bang in 2021, when he made a whopping 635 runs for title winners Chennai Super Kings. The previous season the franchise had taken a punt on Gaikwad as one for the future, slotting him in as an anchoring opener who could attack when needed. They gave him six games and he showed what he was capable of, with over 200 runs.

Towards the pointy end of the 2021 tournament, Gaikwad made 70 in the qualifier against Delhi Capitals and put on a partnership of 61 with Faf du Plessis in the final, taking CSK to 192, which turned out to be plenty. Fresh off that success, he captained Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament and made 259 runs.

Gaikwad's first-class, List A and T20 debuts came in 2016-17, and he shone in the middle format, with 444 runs, the third highest in the Vijay Hazare Trophy that year. He showed he had the game for all requirements when he produced 187 not out against Sri Lanka A in a List A game June 2019, and later in the year, a hundred and a fifty against Chhatisgarh in the Ranji Trophy.