Gautam Gambhir achieved a lot in his international career. The left-handed batsman was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup. He was also a key figure in India’s 2011 ODI World Cup win, having scored 97 runs in the final. Gambhir played across all three formats, and left a mark in each of them. But when he stepped on to take the captaincy role for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011, Gambhir achieved a new set of heights.
While no one doubted Gambhir’s talent with the bat, it remained to be seen if he manages to lead a team amid high pressure situations. Gambhir’s temperament was tested to the limits and he persevered truly, leading KKR to title wins in 2012 and 2014.
With the achievement, Gambhir has left a mark on IPL that will be etched in memories forever. And now, as the 13th edition of IPL beckons, there is one player whom Gambhir is truly looking forward to watch.
Kings XI Punjab’s KL Rahul performed brilliantly in limited-overs cricket this year, both with the bat and behind the stumps, and has now climbed up as one of the possible replacements for now retired MS Dhoni as the wicketkeeper in the Indian team. Rahul was also given captaincy for one match against New Zealand when both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested, and he led the team to victory.
Apart from displaying his top-level batting skills, Rahul will also have the dual challenge of keeping the stumps and captaining KXIP this year in the IPL. And this is why Gambhir is eager to see how Rahul performs.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from displaying his top-level batting skills, Rahul will also have the dual challenge of keeping the stumps and captaining KXIP this year in the IPL. And this is why Gambhir is eager to see how Rahul performs.
{{/usCountry}}“I would want to genuinely watch what KL Rahul does in this IPL. Because according to me KL Rahul is a fantastic T20 cricketer, probably not Test cricket, but definitely T20 and white-ball cricketer,” Gambhir said on the latest episode of Star Sports’ Cricket Connected chat show.
“This time he has got the captaincy. We will have to see if he relishes the captaincy because there have been a lot of promising players who have relished captaincy and there have been many other promising players who have been pulled down by the pressures of captaincy,” Gambhir added.
The IPL 2020 kicks off from September 19th and KXIP will be looking to win their maiden title. The final of the tournament will take place on November 10th.