Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) put one foot into the IPL 2024 playoffs after beating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to go top of the points table on Sunday. KKR now have 16 points from 11 games and only need a win from their remaining league matches to qualify for the playoffs. The two-time champions, who finished in the bottom half of the points table last season, have looked like a different team this season under captain Shreyas Iyer. However, a lot of that credit should go to former captain and mentor Gautam Gambhir, who returned to the franchise after spending two seasons in the dugout at LSG.
Gambhir has provided tactical assistance to both head coach Chandrakant Pandit and under-pressure captain Iyer, who recently lost his BCCI central contract. His act made many wonder if it’s Gambhir who is running the show behind the scenes at KKR, prompting a plethora of questions among fans.
Gambhir, who led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, has also been the driving force behind star all-rounder Sunil Narine‘s revival as a top-order batter.
On Sunday, as LSG took on KKR, Gambhir was in the thick of things as he burst out of joy, following Nicholas Pooran‘s dismissal. Soon after, he was seen sending tactical aid to KKR captain Iyer.
A video of the same incident has gone viral on social media, and Gambhir’s gesture had fans reading between the lines.
Gambhir Reaction On Pooran Wicket And Straight Away Sending Tips To Captain pic.twitter.com/I53aEOH0ZR
— Aayush Sharma (@Ayushaaa1818) May 5, 2024
With Gambhir in the dugout, KKR have managed to thrive in IPL 2024, with openers Narine and Phil Salt laying strong foundations in their playoffs bid.
Narine and Salt have done most of the damage in the Powerplays this season, scoring 461 and 429 runs, respectively, in 11 matches.
Only Virat Kohli (542) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) have scored more runs than Narine this season, with the long-serving KKR star also scalping 14 wickets in addition to his prowess with the bat.
While taking wickets has never been a problem for him, it’s the first time since 2018 that Narine has scored 350 or more runs in an IPL season.
He had scored 357 runs during IPL 2018, but he failed to even cross the 150-run mark in each of the next five seasons.
Meanwhile, Salt, who went unsold during the auctions, was only roped in by KKR as a replacement for Jason Roy.
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