Good Knight ends nightmare

Of course,KKR’s judicious selection of player,specially when compared to their past impulsive buys,has played a role in the team’s change of fortunes but that can’t undermine the ‘Gambhir effect’.

Coach Dav Whatmore says it was his assistant Vijay Dahiya who floated Gambhir’s name when KKR went into a pre-auction huddle. “It was Dahiya’s idea. Since he has been Delhi’s Ranji coach,he has seen Gambhir from close quarters. We planned meticulously before going into the auction. Everybody gave inputs and we were flexible as well,” coach Dav Whatmore said.

Going on to Gambhir he says,“He goes about his business in a quiet way. He is a likable character who likes to lead from the front. He has a shrewd brain and is a popular figure in the dressing room,” he added.

Meanwhile,Dahiya feels that Gambhir has a natural ability to deal with pressure. “There’s a difference between captaining a first-class team and an IPL side. It’s almost as big as an international event and the pressure is huge. He is growing as a leader pretty fast,” Dahiya said.

Big-match player

Responsibility hasn’t affected Gambhir’s batting form. In fact,after 13 matches he is KKR’s highest scorer with 366 runs at 40.66. Being a big-match player,most of his runs have come against top teams and that too in winning causes. Kolkata boy Manoj Tiwary speaks about Gambhir’s quality to know the strength of each player in the team. “He designates specific roles for everyone in the team. Even the reserves don’t feel they are left out,” said Manoj Tiwary.