India head coach Gautam Gambhir picked several former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players in his all-time IPL XI that only included his teammates. As many as 10 of Gambhir’s picks were individuals who he played with at KKR, and Daniel Vettori proved to be the only exception.
The 2-time IPL winner started his journey in the league with the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and played 3 seasons with them from 2008 to 2010. He also captained the franchise in his third season. Gambhir returned to the franchise in 2018 and was again named captain but left the role midway through the season.
Gambhir joined KKR in 2011 and spent 7 seasons at the franchise, in which he led them to the title in 2012 and 2014. During his time in the league, Gambhir played with many fine cricketers like Virender Sehwag, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Brett Lee and many more. However, all the listed players failed to make it to his IPL XI.
In an interaction with Sportskeeda Cricket, Gambhir chose himself and Robin Uthappa as the opening pair. He picked Suryakumar Yadav as the number three batter. Legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis was given the number 4 spot. Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell completed Gambhir’s middle-order.
The former KKR and DD captain picked 4 spinners in his XI which included the likes of Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and Daniel Vettori. India’s newly appointed bowling coach, Morne Morkel, was picked as the lone pacer in the squad.
Gautam Gambhir’s All-Time IPL XI Of Players He Played With: Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Suryakumar Yadav, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Shakib-Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Daniel Vettori, Morne Morkel
