Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper, player Gautam Gambhir has recently said that not holding onto Suryakumar Yadav was one of the biggest mistakes of the Kolkata franchise in the last 13 years.
Suryakumar Yadav played a crucial role in helping the most successful IPL team Mumbai Indians (MI) win their IPL 2020 title. The batsman was with the Kolkata team from 2014 to 2017 and was even the vice-captain of the team.
“Suryakumar Yadav is not easily earned by Mumbai Indians. He’s probably the biggest loss that KKR has ever had in 13 years. Someone who was young, came into KKR, played for four years, obviously couldn’t get the number where he should have batted at because of the batting line up we had at that time,” Gautam Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.
“Manish Pandey was batting at No. 3 but he was batting at No. 6 or 7. KKR could have easily built around Suryakumar Yadav. He was the vice-captain when I was leading the side. Made him the vice-captain so that there was easy transition. I could see that leadership quality with Surya. Very selfless guy, you make him bat at No. 6 or 7. He can bat at any number. There will never be a phase where he’d like to bat at 3. And that is the kind of players you want,” Gautam Gambhir further added.
“Probably the biggest loss till now. Yes, players have moved from one franchise to another. Chris Gayle went to some other franchise and there are many other players. But probably for me the biggest loss till now KKR is ever had is probably letting go Suryakumar Yadav because you don’t get Indian players with that kind of talent,” Gautam Gambhir added.
We still haven’t seen his leadership quality. He’s got a great head on his shoulder. He knows how to lead a side. Going forward, I’m sure Surya will take charge of this side if he stays with Mumbai Indians,” said Gautam Gambhir.
Suryakumar Yadav smashed 480 runs in the IPL 2020 edition with an average of 40.00 and a strike rate at 145.01.
