Gambhir Respects KKR Decision to not Retain Him

Gautam Gambhir?was not retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders for the upcoming IPL season. There were rumours that the Delhi-born batsman and the owners couldn’t agree on his price point. KKR are apparently planning to keep Gambhir in house by using one of their three Right to Match cards. However, it will be at a lower price point than retention would have cost them. Gambhir has stated that he isn’t interested in the fine print, but insisted that he understood the KKR decision.

Gambhir said, “I get where they are coming from. Above all, the communication between the KKR management and myself has been superb. We spoke in a very cordial atmosphere and I respect their call.”

This weekend all speculation will end and Gambhir will find out whether he will stay in Kolkata or head to another city. He can attract a substantial bid based on his ability alone. Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the only players to have made more runs in IPL history than Gambhir. With a strike-rate around 125, Gambhir is fairly lethal. At 35 half-centuries, he is second highest in IPL history after David Warner. He also leads the list of the most fours in the tournament with 484, comfortably ahead of Raina’s 402.

However, reputation will not be the sole factor when it comes to the KKR decision or the bidding war at the IPL auctions. Gambhir had a poor run of form in T20 cricket with scores of 1, 1, 7 and 21 in his last four games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. However, to his credit, he was the second-highest scorer in last season’s IPL. He notched up 498 runs at an average of nearly 42 with four 50+ scores. He also played a key role in the knockout stages for KKR.

In last season’s Ranji Trophy, he was in fine form and that reciprocated in Delhi making the final. He scored 683 runs, including three centuries, and was the 6th-highest run-getter. The 36-year old is convinced that he can continue to contribute to teams he is part of. He isn’t fazed at the prospect of competing with much younger players.

The former KKR skipper said, “I won’t have been playing the format if I was not convinced about my abilities. I am feeling strong physically. Fitness and motivation have never been a challenge. When I turned 30 I promised myself that I needed to up the ante fitness wise as the game was changing, I was moving on and there is that thing called self-pride which you never want to dent. So, I do extensive gym training with my personal trainers, cross country in the ridge area behind my house in Delhi, yoga, kickboxing and also play badminton to stay in shape.”

Besides his prowess as a batsman, Gambhir is on the market for his leadership abilities. After MS Dhoni, he is the most successful captain with 70 wins from 123 matches. Under his wing, players like Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav have earned national call-ups. On the foreign front, the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russel have grown in stature. Now, Gambhir has admitted that while he enjoys captaining a team, his focus is on performing the role of a senior professional in the team.

He continued, “I’d prefer both but the dynamics of the sport are such that each phase of a professional sportsperson’s career comes with responsibility. The way I played in 2011 or 2012 is different to how I play now. Bowlers don’t bowl in my areas, as a senior member it is my duty to curb my game as per the situation. At the end of the day it is about a balanced approach because a team sport has to be played with a team’s interests in mind and not an individual’s.”