Gautam Gambhir, the left-handed batsman who is currently out of the Indian national cricket team allegedly owing to poor form, was left in the lurch after Kolkata Knight Riders sent him into the auction pool for the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan-co-owned KKR stunned its fans after they sent their skipper Gautam Gambhir into the auction pool despite his massive contribution in lifting the IPL trophy twice (2012 and 2014).
KKR, however, retained the West Indian duo of Sunil Narine (Rs 8.5 crore) and Andre Russell (Rs 7 crore).
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Going with the stats Gambhir holds in the IPL following its start in 2008 till the 10th season, it is certain that he will not go unsold in the upcoming IPL 11 auction scheduled to be held on January 28, 29.
Since 2008, Gambhir has played 148 matches and scored 4132 runs with 35 half-centuries in his kitty. He is at number 4 in terms of leading runs scorer in the IPL history. Suresh Raina is at No 1 followed by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Following KKR’s move, Gautam Gambhir’s fans have started predicting the next franchise for him in the IPL auction. Delhi Daredevils is leading the race followed by CSK and RCB.
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Earlier in 2017, Gambhir expressed his desire to return to his former team Delhi Daredevils.
“I think my heart is still with Delhi. I played for three years for Delhi (Daredevils). Somewhere, deep within my heart, I’d love to finish with Delhi. Though I am the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, and would want them to win it for the third time, but since I’m a Delhi boy too, I obviously want Delhi Daredevils to do well as well,” Gambhir once told Hindustan Times.
Going by this statement, Gambhir’s fans have started predicting his return to Delhi camp.
Aree vo delhi se khelega usne bola h ___
— Crickspot (@Crickspot1) January 5, 2018
I would love to see @GautamGambhir leading @DelhiDaredevils squad looking forward to the auction in hope of Delhi picking their home boy pic.twitter.com/qRJkYw7ZtY
— kunal kapoor (@kunalkapoor84) January 6, 2018
GG will be in his home…DD.Almost asure
— Adarsh PSreenivas (@APsreenivas) January 5, 2018
Not just Delhi, CSK is the other team who his fans think can buy him. The speculations started when a user (@Anti_ESTD) tweeted, “I Hv a strong feeling @GautamGambhir wil b picked by @ChennaiIPL in this auction”.
I Hv a strong feeling @GautamGambhir wil b picked by @ChennaiIPL in this auction. #IPLRetention
— Vikashkothari (@Anti_ESTD) January 5, 2018
Interestingly, the official handle of the CSK decided to respond to that tweet.
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 5, 2018
If Gambhir comes to CSK, next year he will be in the One-Day squad 😛
— PoorvajR Venkatraman (@poorvajr) January 5, 2018
Dhoni might want to end the fuss of rivalry between them !
— Naveen Kumar (@Viswanaveen) January 5, 2018
Besides DD and CSK, some of Gautam’s fans also think that the Delhi batsman will find his place in either Virat Kohli-led RCB or in Preity Zinta-co-owned Kings XI Punjab. Here are some of the reactions.
Gambhir is a best choice for RCB instead of KL Rahul . He’d be a vice captain to assist Kohli .
— shabzz (@mail4shabzz) January 7, 2018
Doubt that. With his not so good equation with MSD and his desire to play for DD, CSK might not happen. It’s possible KXIP or DD make him their captain, which will also suit him.
— Rahul Dugal (@rahuldugal) January 5, 2018
In your dreams only. Cause DD and KXIP will go hard on him.
— samar (@samarm01) January 5, 2018
There is still a possibility that KKR might use their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain their skipper Gautam Gambhir.
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