Gautam Gambhir does not have a magic wand, but he surely knows what it takes to bring a team together.
He did that with Kolkata Knight Riders as a captain for seven seasons, repeated a similar story with Lucknow Super Giants until last year, and this time around, he’s done that again - guiding Knight Riders to yet another Indian Premier League final.
As a mentor, he managed to create an environment where players could trust each other and develop a bond on and off the field - that, eventually, turned out to be the recipe for success.
Obviously, it was not a cakewalk; there were teething troubles as well. But with ‘Gauti bhai’ around, the players and the management knew that this man would eventually find a solution to almost every problem.
And, that reflected in KKR’s performance this season.
Kolkata Knight Riders bought Mitchell Starc for Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/ The Hindu
Much before the tournament got underway, Gambhir took bold decisions - bringing in Mitchell Starc for whopping Rs 24.75 crore in the auction despite the cricketing fraternity doubting the decision.
During the camps in Kolkata, he had conversations with the players and ensured that Sunil Narine and Andre Russell were given their due importance. Unlike previous two editions, where KKR had different players at the top, Gambhir promoted Narine as an opener - something he had done in his captaincy days as well - and that allowed the West Indies ace to build his game and play freely.
Turning the clock back, Narine ended up being one of the leading scorers - 482 runs in 13 innings - for the Knights in the tournament and his breezy knocks gave the team the head start it needed. A similar treatment was given to Russell, who has had an impressive season so far.
“Compared to the last couple of seasons, there has been a huge change in KKR’s style of play under Gautam. He backed Russell and Narine and gave them the freedom and they have been able to deliver. Over the last few seasons, they were not in their elements, but this time with Gautam has given importance to both Russell and Narine and the result is showing,” Manvinder Singh Bisla, who guided KKR to its first title win in 2012, told Sportstar.
“These guys need that backing to perform and Gautam has been able to do it. They know that they always have Gautam’s back and that’s why they can play freely. Even when Starc was brought in, people were apprehensive, but Gautam knew that the team was missing that spark with the pace department over the last few seasons, and despite Starc having a few forgettable outings, Gautam has always been around him,” Bisla added.
And, Starc delivered when it mattered. Claiming three wickets in the Qualifier, he guided Knights to the final on Tuesday.
Along with his colleagues - Chandrakant Pandit and Abhishek Nayar - Gambhir ensured that even young, rookie, uncapped players were given the confidence. A Ramandeep Singh or Harshit Rana was backed, along with the overseas recruits, some of whom had to even warm the bench for a while. But, they never lost hope.
And it was quite evident with the way Rahmanullah Gurbaz returned to India despite his mother still being admitted to a hospital in Afghanistan because his ‘KKR family’ needed him more with Phil Salt flying back to England.
“If you have a management like the KKR family, you really don’t need to worry about anything because GG Sir (Gambhir) is there, Shah Rukh (Khan) Sir is there, the head coach (Chandrakant Pandit) is there. It’s like a family. I didn’t play for a long time, but I came and featured in the semifinal, so there was bound to be a lot of pressure, but they took away all the pressure for me and asked me to just go out there and enjoy,” Gurbaz said.
Having played under Gambhir’s captaincy, Bisla believes that for the KKR mentor, the team always comes first. “For Gautam, it’s the team first and he never sets unrealistic targets. He will never want something from his player that’s not achievable,” Bisla said, adding that with a happy dressing room, the Knights have looked sorted both on and off the field.
“Gautam has been able to create a happy dressing room and every player has the backing and if you are in a happy space, things will automatically fall in place. In a tournament like the IPL where you can have a dip in form, it’s important for the captain and the mentor or coach to have your back and this season, Gautam and the team has been able to bring that stability,” Bisla said.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Gautam Gambhir on the field during the Qualifier 1 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/ The Hindu
While Gambhir planned things out from the dugout, captain Shreyas Iyer implemented those on the field and ensured he brought the best out of his boys. Through thick and thin, he motivated them and in sync with Gambhir’s plan of action, drove KKR on the way to success.
With the team buoying with confidence and mentor Gambhir holding fort, the Knights hope to break its title jinx after a decade. Over to Chepauk!
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