Manoj Tiwary explained how Gautam Gambhir sparked a turnaround at the KKR camp in the IPL 2024.
For yet another Indian Premier League (IPL) championship, Gautam Gambhir has made his way back to Chennai. The former India opener is currently the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), leading Shreyas Iyer and company to their fourth final in the lucrative league. At the renowned MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, the two-time winners Kolkata and the past winners Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will square off in the IPL 2024 championship. Under Gambhir’s direction, the Knight Riders experienced their maiden IPL championship victory in 2012.
The former India opener was the driving force behind KKR’s 2012 and 2014 championship runs as captain. The Kolkata coach ignited a resurgence at Eden Gardens as the defending champions topped the league rankings with Gambhir returning to KKR for the 2024 Indian Premier League.
Iyer and company scored 20 points during the tournament’s league phase. KKR defeated SRH in Qualifier 1 to become the first team to advance to the playoffs this season and secure a spot in the IPL 2024 championship.
Gambhir is now the front-runner for the soon-to-be-vacant India head coach position after a victorious comeback at KKR. A prior report said that Gambhir was contacted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the position of head coach of Team India. Manoj Tiwary, a former Indian cricket player, said that Gambhir’s reckless style of playing at KKR cemented his influence and turned the team into a formidable force in the IPL.
‘Gautam Gambhir has made the difference this season’
“This season, Gautam Gambhir has been the difference maker. This is the same squad that competed in the previous two seasons, but they did not put up their best on the field. You have to acknowledge that Gambhir has made a difference given how everyone has played, Tiwary said Cricbuzz. “It’s not like the credit should go to just one individual. In order to play brave cricket in the IPL in 2024, the players have truly risen up and asserted themselves,” he continued.
After the Kolkata heavyweights finished sixth in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, KKR signed Gambhir as their mentor. 2011 saw Gambhir’s debut as a player for KKR. Until 2017, he continued to be a Knight Rider.
Senior head coach Chandrakant Pandit leads KKR, while assistant coach Abhishek Nayar assists him. In addition, Bharat Arun, Ryan Ten Doeschate, and James Foster, an assistant coach and bowling coach, are part of the KKR support team.
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