Why Ruturaj Gaikwad abruptly ended his County stint with Yorkshire and flew back home

Here's why CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad abruptly ended his county stint with Yorkshire to fly back home.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad decided to cut short his county stint with Yorkshire. The right-handed batter has flown back home due to personal reasons. This update was confirmed by Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath just days ahead of their County Championship fixture against Surrey, set to begin on Tuesday, July 22, at the North Marine Road Ground in Scarborough.

Here's why CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad abruptly ended his county stint with Yorkshire to fly back home. (PTI)

Ruturaj Gaikwad, 28, was part of India A's squad for the two unofficial Tests against the England Lions, and he was expected to link up with Yorkshire for the rest of the County season.

The Yorkshire coach revealed that Gaikwad is dealing with a personal issue back home. Hence, he has flown to India and will not be available for the county for the remainder of the County season.

“Unfortunately, Gaikwad’s not coming now for personal reasons. We’re not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. I can’t tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything’s ok. We’ve literally just found out. We’re working behind the scenes on what we can do. But it’s only two or three days away, so I’m not sure what we can do at the moment," the official website of Yorkshire quoted McGrath as saying.

Midway through the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the tournament due to a hairline fracture on his elbow. MS Dhoni had to lead the team for the remainder of the competition.

Gaikwad was hit on the elbow during the match against the Rajasthan Royals. He played through pain in the next match but was eventually ruled out of the premier T20 competition.

For the first time in their history, CSK finished at the bottom of the points table in an IPL season.