Former captains Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are two of the most iconic Indian cricketers of all time. There have been several legends of Indian cricket – Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and many more – but the cult fan following of Tendulkar and Dhoni and the emotions these two former cricketers evoke out of their admirers is next to none. If one is to pick between Tendulkar and Dhoni in terms of their stardom, it will not be an easy choice. Tendulkar has been by a long shot, India's greatest batsman of all time, while Dhoni is easily the crème de la crème of captains in the history of Indian cricket? Seriously, how do you choose?
On Sunday, India youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad was asked this question, albeit with a bit of a twist. In a video titled 'Quick hits with Ruturaj Gaikwad' shared by the BCCI on its Twitter handle, Gaikwad was asked to pick between having dinner with Tendulkar or engaging in a fitness session with Dhoni. As expected, he did not answer it at a go. Gaikwad paused, took a few seconds and went with a rather creative answer. "First training session with MSD, and then dinner with Sachin Tendulkar," he said.
Besides picking between two of the biggest icons of Indian cricket, Gaikwad answered a range of rapid-fire questions. Gaikwad, who hails from Pune, revealed that his favourite meal to have when in the city is 'Dosa', and said that had he not chosen cricket as his professions, the 25-year-old would have opted for a career in Tennis.
{{/usCountry}}Besides picking between two of the biggest icons of Indian cricket, Gaikwad answered a range of rapid-fire questions. Gaikwad, who hails from Pune, revealed that his favourite meal to have when in the city is 'Dosa', and said that had he not chosen cricket as his professions, the 25-year-old would have opted for a career in Tennis.
{{/usCountry}}As if the Tendulkar vs Dhoni question wasn't enough, Gaikwad was asked to pick a session he would like to have with either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, to which he replied 'Roger Federer'. Gaikwad, who has excelled against both spinners and fast bowlers, said that he preferred facing seamers while reserving a huge compliment for his India teammate Suryakumar who he called as the batter with the best pick-up shot.
Gaikwad named Chennai's Chidambaram stadium as his best venue, and mentioned that he would love to make his Test debut for India at Lord's. Gaikwad was asked to name his best batting partner, to which he replied Ishan Kishan. The two opened the innings for India during against South Africa in the five-match T20I series at home in June. Gaikwad then had to deal with another bouncer when he was asked to name his favourite cricketer. He did not choose a single name but picked Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.