Gautam Gambhir (Photo Source – KKR/Twitter)
Gautam Gambhir reminded everyone that Hardik Pandya is an IPL-winning captain as he came to the aid of the Baroda all-rounder, who was recently criticised for his performances by AB de Villiers and Kevin Pietersen.
Hardik’s appointment as the Mumbai Indians captain ahead of IPL 2024 faced severe criticism as he had replaced the legendary Rohit Sharma in the prestigious role. The five-time champions couldn’t play anywhere near their potential and became the first team to be eliminated. Iconic cricketers AB de Villiers and Kevin Pietersen lambasted the 30-year-old for his performances in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league.
Gambhir, who is a two-time IPL-winning captain, stood in support of Hardik and said that the performances of de Villiers and Pietersen weren’t great when they were captains. The current mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stated that the former South African batter and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart, de Villiers, didn’t achieve anything in the IPL apart from his own runs.
“What was their own performance like when they were the captain? I don’t think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing. If you pick and see their records, I think they are worse than any other leader. I don’t think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don’t think he has achieved anything from a team’s point of view, Hardik Pandya is still an IPL-winning captain. So you should only compare oranges to oranges. Not apple to oranges,” Gambhir said in an interaction with Sportskeeda.
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Gautam Gambhir weaves magic yet again with KKR
KKR had finished seventh in the last two editions of the IPL. Ahead of the 2024 season, Gambhir was roped in as the mentor of the Kolkata-based franchise and he has been able to instill a winning mentality in the team. As a result, the Knights have managed to win nine out of their 13 games and were the first team to qualify for the playoffs.
Interestingly, this is the third consecutive season where Gambhir has mentored a team to the playoffs. In the last two seasons, the diminutive former India cricketer mentored Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to the playoffs.