We have given players a lot of freedom – Gautam Gambhir
Apr 28, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Kolkata Knight Riders has been the team to beat this time around. The Knight Riders have been consistently doing well in this edition of the IPL, and a lot of credit for that goes to their energetic and lively skipper Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir keenly believes in giving his players a lot of freedom and likes to utilize the talent of his individuals optimally.
Gambhir’s way of utilizing talent was evident in Knight Riders’ win over the Rising Pune Supergiants recently. With regular number 3 batsman Manish Pandey not playing, Suryakumar Yadav was promoted at the top, and the batsman packed a punch with his match winning innings. Before their outing against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai, Gambhir expressed his views of being consistent and not altering the side too much.
“We do not chop and change too much. If someone doesn’t perform well, we do not send him back to the auction or release the player. We have shown a lot of trust in our domestic players. We have given them freedom to go and express themselves. All of us, coaches and support staff, have allowed players to go out and make mistakes. I think that that differentiates us from rest,” said Gambhir.
Gambhir also praised Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma as the last time around when the two sides met, it was Sharma who won the game for the Mumbai Indians. “I always believe that Rohit Sharma is a quality player. He was the one who took the game away from us. If someone from the top three can bat through the innings, most of the time the team will end up winning the game. That is what he did,” said Gambhir.
“Let’s see, we will plan something and try and stop him, as he has the most quality in the line-up. We have come a long way as well. After that game we lost, we have won three games on the trot. I think we are in pretty good form as well and hopefully, we can continue that tomorrow. We have plans for everyone, not just Rohit. We got to bowl well as a unit, we have a quality bowling line-up. If we do that, we will create a lot of opportunities,” Gambhir added.