Gautam Gambhir was all praise for under-fire KL Rahul ahead of the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and reserved big praise for him. Despite the criticism for the Indian opening batter over his recent form, Gambhir labelled LSG ‘very fortunate’ to have Rahul as their skipper.
Gambhir explained the importance of a captain in the IPL and explained that the support staff are there to help the captain, who has to take all the pressure. The two-time IPL winner praised Rahul’s stable and balanced head and stated that he himself lacked these qualities.
“It starts with the captain. The captain is the flag bearer of the team. It is the captain’s team. All of us in the dressing room are there to support him. No support staff is under as much pressure as the captain. It is the body language of the captain that will decide how we perform,” said Gambhir at LSG’s jersey launch for the new season.
“We are very fortunate to have someone like KL Rahul, who has a very stable and balanced head. I wish I had it, I did not have that. I was very extreme, but it did work for me. For a franchise like Lucknow, it is important to have someone like KL at the helm. Going forward, this is going to be a massive positive for us,” he added.
Gambhir is the mentor of the franchise and joined them in the 2022 season. Last year was LSG’s first year in the cash-rich league after they became one of the two new teams to join the league alongside eventual champions Gujarat Titans.
