Gautam Gambhir says he is open to play for any franchise in Indian Premier League

Gautam Gambhir says he is open to play for any franchise in Indian Premier League

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Gautam Gambhir has surprisingly confirmed his availability for the upcoming Indian Premier League, revealing that his future with KKR remains uncertain. He has further stated that if India want to put up some fight on the South Africa tour, then the openers would need to forge good partnerships.

Earlier this week, the date for the IPL's mega-auction was announced, which is scheduled to take place on January 27 and 28 and will take place in Bengaluru. The IPL Governing Council has asked the franchises to submit the names of the players they would like to retain by January 4, ahead of the auction. And to everyone's surprise, the Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper has revealed that his future is still uncertain as the franchise is yet to clarify things with him and he is ready to play for any team. Gambhir has amassed 4133 runs in IPL so far from 148 matches at an average of 31.55, in which he has 35 fifties 

“It is very surprising that I have not spoken to anyone (in KKR management). I don’t know about myself (future with KKR). We’ll probably sit and talk after the Ranji final. But yes I am (open to playing for any franchise). You have achieved so much for KKR. You have done whatever you could. If things do not work out in future, the good part is that you are leaving a franchise on a good note, when it has become a successful franchise. Not when you were struggling,” says Gambhir, who had earlier shown interest in playing for Delhi Daredevils as quoted by Hindustan Times. 

“As a professional, you want different challenges. There is nothing wrong with it. That’ll keep you motivated and hungry.”

The 36-year-old has played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs for India in which he scored 4154 and 5238 runs respectively. Gambhir, who played his last ODI game in January 2013, scored 29 and a duck against England in his last Test appearance in November 2016. Gambhir continued to play in the domestic cricket as well as in the cash-rich league.

Team India is scheduled to visit South Africa for a long series which will start with a Test match in Cape Town on January 5. The left-handed batsman was in the team when India toured the country in 2010-11 where he scored 242 runs at an average of 60.50 in two matches. He suggested the Indian opening pair to build a foundation which will help the bowlers later.

“India will have to put runs on board in South Africa and the openers will have to play a key role. India have a settled opening pair in Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay. In a place like South Africa or for that matter anywhere, seeing off the new ball shouldn’t be the main focus. That is a very negative thing. They should score runs and provide the start. But I think there’ll be a result in all the three matches. I can’t predict which way it’ll go. But for India to do well, they need runs to give their bowlers a chance.”

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