NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders clinched their third Indian Premier League title in 2024 under the mentorship of
Gautam Gambhir
, who returned to the franchise this season.
Gambhir, who previously led KKR to titles in 2012 and 2014 as captain, has been widely praised for his strategic influence and leadership.
Former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach
Tom Moody
commended Gambhir's impact on ESPNcricinfo, stating, "His ability to just get the ship in the right direction is crucial.
He is very clear in what he believes the dressing room needed to go, the personnel that needed to be in that playing XI, and the likes of Narine being back to the top of the order again. If Gambhir was still at Lucknow this year, there was no way that Narine would have opened the batting."
Moody emphasized that Gambhir's clarity and stability brought significant positive changes to KKR, addressing the confusion and inconsistency that had plagued the team in previous seasons.
"A lot of things have just worked perfectly for KKR this year, in a positive way. I think Gambhir should be given a huge amount of credit for his impact as a leader. He has created stability and clarity that is the most important thing," Moody added.
Robin Uthappa
, a former teammate of Gambhir, also praised his leadership on JioCinema.
"One of the things that he does as a leader is defining roles. He creates a sense and a feeling of security within the group. He defines the roles very clearly to each player. Everyone feels included, and you create a support staff that takes care of everybody. Honestly, there is no rocket science to this, and a lot of successful teams have done this. We have seen Mumbai Indians and CSK do this, and KKR, when they do this right, it actually works for them," Uthappa remarked.
Uthappa noted that Gambhir's absence in recent years had seen the team lose its way, but his return brought back the successful strategies from his captaincy days.
"Now he is doing it as a mentor, and you can see the fruits of all that work that he has put in," Uthappa added.
Gambhir's return as mentor has evidently paid off, as KKR's 2024 IPL triumph underscores the importance of strong leadership and strategic clarity in achieving success. His ability to define roles, create a supportive environment, and maintain a clear direction has been instrumental in KKR's resurgence, earning him widespread acclaim within the cricketing community.
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