CHENNAI: Age can be quite the metaphorical double-edged sword when it comes to professional sport; a trade-off between enrichment of in-game experience and the physical ravages that time eventually brings about. In that regard, Gautam Gambhir has been pulling off quite the balancing act between the body and the mind, especially in the IPL.
For the former, he has made a new addition to his regimen: pilates. The Delhi native has enlisted the services of Bosnian expert Vesna Pericevic Jacob as his trainer this year. “I’m loving it. This is the first time that I’m doing pilates. I’ve enjoyed every session so far. When you do something new, you obviously look forward to do it again.”
His cognitive purview, on the other hand, doesn’t really need any kind of tinkering, considering his exploits as a skipper in the league. Two titles with the Kolkata Knight Riders, along with a win-loss ratio of 1.346 from 123 clashes (second-best only to MS Dhoni, with an 80-match cut-off) aptly underscores both his seven years of being at their helm and the cricketing acumen he has accrued over his professional sojourn.
“I have a lot of respect for what we’ve done and achieved over the past seven years. My journey with them has been an unbelievable; two titles, making it to the play-offs four times, and winning 14 games in a row. I’m very happy with what we have achieved together.”
That, concatenated with his recent form with the willow (sixth-best run-scorer in Ranji Trophy with 683 at an average of 56.91) and an impressive CV in the league (most half-centuries and one among the few to aggregate 300-plus returns in every season) may very well make followers brush Gambhir’s previous 36 birthdays under their mental rugs.
After processing all this information, it wouldn’t be wrong to infer that the three skipper-less franchises at the moment — Kolkata (who didn’t retain Gambhir), Delhi Daredevils, and Kings XI Punjab — will have their crosshairs set on the southpaw for taking over their reins this year.
If the aforementioned trivia overload isn’t enough to buttress this argument, then the success that Indian captains have had in the league (seven out of 10 titles) might tip the naysayers over the fence. Despite all this, though, Gambhir’s approach towards the upcoming auctions — in Bengaluru this weekend — is quite the pragmatic one.
“Not at all (hard feelings for not being retained by Kolkata). As a professional cricketer, you always look towards new challenges. At the same time, I can’t say much about the team’s strategy (in terms of picking players). But (Andre) Russell and (Sunil) Narine are important players for any team, and they’re important for KKR. On a personal front, I just wanted to score runs this year, and I’ve done that with Delhi. You do feel good when you notch up 700-odd runs.”
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com