Ruturaj Gaikwad, an Indian batter, has withdrawn from his County Championship tenure with Yorkshire, just days before his scheduled debut. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain signed a five-match contract last month, but personal considerations have forced him to leave the English domestic season prematurely.
Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath confirmed Gaikwad’s absence ahead of their County Championship clash with defending champions Surrey on July 22 at Scarborough.
“Unfortunately, Gaikwad is unable to attend right now due to personal circumstances. We will not have him for Scarborough or the remainder of the season. So it is disappointing. I can’t tell you why, but we hope everything is okay. We literally just found out. We are working behind the scenes to see what we can do. But it’s only two or three days away, so I’m not sure what we can do at this point. We’re striving to find a replacement, but time is an issue. “I can’t give you anything more than that right now,” stated Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath, as reported by the Indian Express.
The county club has yet to provide information on the reason behind Gaikwad’s withdrawal. The Maharashtra hitter stated his delight about playing in the English domestic season.
“I’m excited to be joining Yorkshire for the remainder of the English domestic season.” “It has always been a goal of mine to play cricket in this country, and Yorkshire is the biggest club in England,” Gaikwad stated.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was recently added to India A’s squad for the England visit.
Meanwhile, the batter has faced fitness and form issues in recent months. He injured his elbow while leading CSK in the IPL 2025 season and was ruled out after only five matches, averaging 24.40. Although he was later added to the India A team for the England tour, he did not play in either of the two matches against the England Lions.
In First-Class cricket, he has 2632 runs in 38 games at an average of 41.77. His last First-Class performance was during India A’s tour of Australia in 2024, when he scored just 20 runs in four innings. During the 2024-25 Indian domestic season, he scored 571 runs in 12 innings, including one hundred.
India
