"The friendship that never dies" - Ruturaj Gaikwad receives adorable birthday wish from his wife Utkarsha Pawar

Indian opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad received a sweet birthday wish from his wife, Utkarsha Pawar, as he celebrated his 27th birthday on Wednesday, January 31.

Taking to her official Instagram handle, Utkarsha shared a reel featuring a few funny videos and pictures of Ruturaj. She captioned the post:

"The friendship that never dies. Happy birthday to the person who is still a child at heart! Never grow up.❤️"

Ruturaj Gaikwad was in brilliant form in India's five-match home T20I series against Australia last year. With 223 runs at an average of 55.75, he was the leading run-getter of the series. He slammed his maiden T20I century, remaining unbeaten on 123 off just 57 balls in the third T20I.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad is currently on the sidelines due to a finger injury

Ruturaj Gaikwad's batting exploits against Australia helped him earn a spot in India's squad for their multi-format series against South Africa. He was included in the team for all three formats.

The talented batter was benched for the entire three-match T20I series. He did feature in the playing XI in the ODI series, registering scores of four and five in the first two fixtures.

However, he sustained a finger injury while fielding in the second ODI, which subsequently ruled him out for the remainder of the tour. Because of the injury, he also missed India's three-match home T20I series against Afghanistan.

Ruturaj was also not picked in the squad for the first two Tests of India's ongoing five-match Test series against England. It remains to be seen if he finds a place in the roster for the last three matches.

The 27-year-old has proved his mettle at the domestic level with consistent performances for Maharashtra. He has chalked up 1941 runs from 47 innings at an average of 42.19 in first-class cricket.

He has also been one of the top performers for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in recent years, mustering 1797 runs from 52 outings at an average of 39.07.