India and Chennai Super Kings batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has withdrawn from his upcoming county stint with Yorkshire, citing a personal issue at home. Gaikwad was scheduled to make his debut for the club on July 22 against Surrey at North Marine Road, Scarborough, and was expected to stay with the team for the remainder of the season.
Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath confirmed the development on Saturday, expressing disappointment over the late withdrawal.
"Unfortunately Gaikwad's not coming now for personal reasons," McGrath said. "We're not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. So that's disappointing. I can't tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything's ok. We've literally just found out."
The county side is now in search of a last-minute replacement. "We're working behind the scenes on what we can do," McGrath added. "But it's only two or three days away, so I'm not sure what we can do at the moment. We're working to try and get a possible replacement, but time pressure is the issue."
Gaikwad, who was recently named captain of India A for their upcoming series against Australia A beginning October 31 in Mackay, has not featured in top-level cricket since being ruled out of the 2025 IPL due to injury. He was replaced in the Chennai Super Kings squad by Ayush Mhatre, with veteran MS Dhoni returning as captain.
In additional team updates, McGrath also addressed the absence of Dom Bess and Jonny Bairstow from the Vitality Blast match against Leicestershire on Friday.
"Dom had a little bit of a niggle from the Roses game, and we just took a precaution with him," he explained. "Jonny's partner is due to give birth at any time, so we wish him and his family well. For Scarborough, we don't know about that yet."
Yorkshire now face the challenge of reshuffling their plans as they prepare to host Surrey in a key County Championship fixture.