KKR are performing well since Gambhir joined the franchise as a mentor they are currently second in the points table winning five matches out of seven in the tournament so far.

New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders’ opener Sunil Narine lavished praise on mentor Gautam Gambhir for his energy towards the game ahead of Indian Premier League 2024 match 47 which will be played between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders on April 26 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Notably, KKR are performing well since Gambhir joined the franchise as a mentor they are currently second in the points table winning five matches out of seven in the tournament so far.

Narine is also lethal this season as he scored 286 runs in seven IPL outings with a personal best score of 109 runs. The all-rounder also picked up nine wickets so far. He is in the in the tally of highest run-getters.

“Gambhir adds energy and out-of-the-box thinking to this group which helped a lot – he is emotional about the game & always comes up with new plans” said Narine on Starsports.

Both KKR and DC have played 32 matches against each other where Kolkata based franchise holds the edge by winning 21 matches.

Gambhir, who led KKR to titles in 2012 and 2014 as captain, is now the mentor of the team for IPL 2024 and revealed his thought process in the latest episode of the KKR Knights Dugout Podcast.

Asked about his theory of winning the IPL, Gambhir said, “It’s not the most talented team that goes on to win the IPL. It’s the most courageous team, that’s willing to fight till the last drop of blood, will go on to win the IPL.”

Asked what conversation he had with Shah Rukh Khan after going through a bad patch in 2014, Gambhir said SRK dissuaded him from dropping himself from the team.

Gambhir a constant presence in the KKR dugout with serious or at times very animated and aggressive expressions, said people don’t come to the stadium to see him smile. “People don’t come to watch me smile, People come to see KKR win,” said Gambhir who felt KKR has the most loyal and passionate fans in the country.

Gambhir, who had a dream about joining the Indian Army but ended up at the National Cricket Academy instead of the National Defence Academy (NDA) because of destiny, said his mentality is to always go for a win. “I want to be a winner on the field every single time. Results do matter to me,” he added.

Gambhir said that he knew Sunil Narine was going to be a legend when he played against him on his international debut.

“I faced Sunil Narine in his International debut at Indore and within 7-8 balls, I knew he was going to become a legend of the game especially in T20 Cricket,” said Gambhir.