Gautam Gambhir, a former cricket player and current coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, took a swipe at Kevin Pietersen and AB de Villiers after the two had criticized Hardik Pandya for his subpar captaincy in the upcoming IPL 2024. Gambhir stated that Pandya, who assisted Gujarat Titans in winning the 2022 Indian Premier League and finishing second the following year, should not be questioned because neither of the former cricket players accomplished anything noteworthy as a leader.
Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan stated that he doesn’t take Gautam Gambhir “seriously” because of his history of making divisive remarks on de Villiers and Pietersen. Notably, Wassan’s relationship with Gautam Gambhir dates back to 2017, when the latter was captain of the Delhi team while the other was a selector. Gambhir was removed from captaincy in the same year and he later revealed that the selection committee did not inform him anything prior.
Later, in 2019, Wassan and the selection committee removed Rishabh Pant as the captain after his poor performances. The committee wanted to appoint a senior cricketer as captain but they ignored Gautam Gambhir’s presence and gave the baton to Pradeep Sangwan.
“I don’t take Gautam Gambhir seriously”
Atul Wassan slammed Gautam Gambhir saying he is trying to create controversy. He said:
“What are you saying? He is trying to create a controversy and he has a habit of it. I don’t take Gautam Gambhir seriously,” Wassan said in an interaction with India News.
Gambhir has commented on Kevin Pietersen and De Villiers. He said :
“What was their own performance like when they were the captain? I don’t think, be it Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, they had any performance in their career with leadership. Nothing. If you pick and see their records, I think they are worse than any other leader. I don’t think AB de Villiers has achieved anything in the IPL apart from his own scores. I don’t think he has achieved anything from a team’s point of view, Hardik Pandya is still an IPL-winning captain. So you should only compare oranges to oranges. Not apple to oranges,”
In the meantime, Pietersen, a former captain of England, responded to Gambhir’s remark and has graciously taken the criticism. Notably, in his 36 games as England captain, Pietersen only managed 11 victories. He is not incorrect. Pietersen tweeted, “I was a terrible captain,” on X, using several laughing emojis.
However, Kolkata are once again a title contender under Gambhir. The team will have two chances to advance to the championship game this season if they finish first in the standings, as confirmed.