Gautam Gambhir faced criticism for taking ‘KKR Quota’ players to the Champions Trophy. However, the Indian head coach seemed to have had the last laugh.
Gautam Gambhir, who has been repeatedly chastised for supporting his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammates Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, and even Shreyas Iyer for national selection, has caused the whole cricket fanbase on social media to change their minds. Gambhir was reportedly the driving force behind Varun Chakravarthy’s inclusion in India’s ODI team for the ICC Champions Trophy, despite the fact that the mystery spinner hadn’t made his 50-over debut until the England series right before the premier event. Varun, on the other hand, shined with the ball in Sunday’s encounter against New Zealand, demonstrating why Gambhir was correct to support him.After the squad lost Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill early on, it was Shreyas Iyer’s batsmanship that kept India afloat. After Gambhir was frequently ridiculed on social media for employing the “KKR quota” in international selection, his followers’ opinions drastically changed as they applauded him online for making such audacious selections.
In the Group B encounter against the Kiwis, Iyer led India in scoring with 79 runs off 98 balls, and Varun took his first-ever five-wicket haul in ODIs. Thanks to their performances in Dubai, India was able to defeat New Zealand by successfully defending their 249/9 total and securing the top spot in the group stage.Some supporters also expressed regret to Gambhir for having second thoughts about his choices. Following Varun and Iyer’s outstanding performance, fans took to social media to unleash the following ‘KKR quota’ memes:
Similar circumstances led Varun to join India’s T20 team in 2021, but the spinner’s tournament didn’t go as expected. But the seasoned spinner demonstrated that he had moved past the ghosts of his past when he made his Champions Trophy debut against the Kiwis.
However, if head coach Gambhir hadn’t included him in India’s Champions Trophy roster following Jasprit Bumrah’s exclusion, none of it would have been feasible. Many criticized India for sending five spinners to Dubai for the Champions Trophy when Chakravarthy was added.
However, Gambhir has now shown that he was correct.
