Lalit Modi, the former IPL chairman, has recently urged Kolkata Knight Riders to do “whatever it takes to lure” Gautam Gambhir “back” into their set-up.
“That @GautamGambhir WITHOUT AN IOTA OF Doubt In my mind was the BEST PERSON for @KKRiders” he wrote in a viral post on X. “Gautam should be Kkr’s MAIN STRATEGIST GLOBALLY. NO ONE BETTER”.
The man who conceptualised the money-spinning league and changed the face of cricket forever has even suggested that KKR “give him stock options”, similar to how Shane Warne held equity at Rajasthan Royals.
The Knights have plunged into a deeper crisis since his post. They meet Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Friday, and unless there’s a dramatic turn in fortunes their streak of nine consecutive losses in IPL 2009 is under serious threat this time.
Gambhir’s leadership was best exemplified in his bold moves and the manner in which he transformed an inconsistent side into a champion outfit.
His no-nonsense attitude, aggressive flair and selfless culture reflected on the field and created a strong identity for the franchise. The fans and players could easily relate to his brand of cricket, which he often described as “playing with soul”.
The results showed: KKR won two titles in 2012 and 2014 under his captaincy and, when he later returned as a mentor in 2024, he once again showed the same mojo that fetched instant results and got them their third crown.
Besides clarity of roles, he created a secure environment for the players to produce their best. KKR has missed that spark since Gambhir’s departure in the last two editions.
His inspirational speech to the players before IPL 2024 still resonates across Eden Gardens. It emphasised equality among the players, a “one mission” mentality to win the title and total freedom for the players to express themselves. He also harped on the winning attitude and assured honesty from the support staff.
None among the current support staff carries Gambhir’s aura and passion. A peek into any of the Knights’ practice sessions will portray that this is a team which is not showing urgency to make things happen on the
field. Accountability doesn’t seem important as the
players look rudderless and mentally fatigued.
The head coach and captain’s roles assume greater significance in this context. There’s no doubting Abhishek Nayar’s abilities, given his exploits with the likes of
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. But as the overall head of a unit, his reputation has taken a severe beating.
The congregation of mentor Dwayne Bravo, Nayar, assistant coach Shane Watson, bowling coach Tim Southee and power coach Andre Russell hasn’t produced the desired results. Running a franchise team is not about putting together the best minds or players, but more about managing the resources, planning, innovative thinking and taking calculated risks.
Strategy-wise, Nayar has been a failure, from not being courageous enough to blood youngsters to his inability to forge a settled playing XI in five matches. The Kolkata Knight Riders are the only side still struggling to put together an explosive batting line-up.
Nayar could take a leaf out of Sunrisers Hyderabad and the way the team management has been rewarded for their daring approach in blooding Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Sakib Hussain and Praful Hinge. Time for the Knights to break new grounds and fast-track players like Saurabh Dubey and Tejasvi Dahiya.
Not without reason, Gambhir’s decision to drop Brendon McCullum and play Manvinder Bisla in the 2012 IPL final against CSK still remains a talking point. With Lakshmipathy Balaji injured, KKR were forced to bring in Brett Lee and drop McCullum to maintain the four overseas-player balance in the XI.
Bisla went on to make a match-winning 89. Years later, Gambhir revealed that he personally apologised to the Kiwi opener in front of
the entire team since he wanted to clear himself of the
guilt that he “hadn’t communicated enough”.
Since Gambhir’s departure, KKR’s biggest blunder was to release their winning captain Shreyas Iyer. Whatever may have been his demands, the core group should have retained him at any cost. Shreyas has since worked wonders with Punjab Kings, sans any stars.
KKR have struggled to find a suitable replacement with Ajinkya Rahane proving to be a disaster in this format. There’s an unmissable leadership vacuum.
Until KKR manages to find a suitable leader and strategist, the free-fall might continue. Or, will they wait for Gambhir’s return?
