Kolkata Knight Riders Coach Jacques Kallis Talks About Gautam Gambhir's Future

At a time when rumours surrounding Gautam Gambhir’s future with Kolkata Knight Riders is viciously doing the rounds ahead of this month’s mega auctions, Jacques Kallis, the team’s head coach, has added more fuel to the fire by giving a straightforward answer on the much-talked-about topic.

Media reports are suggesting that the two-time IPL winners are not very keen on retaining their most successful skipper who led them to glory in 2012 and 2014. A leading cricket news outlet claimed that the franchise is mulling to part ways with their talismanic skipper in a bid to keep pace with the dynamics of the league.  The franchises are now looking to have those players who can score at a good strike-rate, something which Gambhir has struggled to do in recent times. The out-of-favour India batsman, Gambhir amassed an impressive 498 runs last season, but it came at a strike rate of 124.60 much less than 172.30- the strike rate at which Sunil Narine, a part-time batsman, scored while opening the innings.

ALSO READ : IPL 2018: Gautam Gambhir to Don Mentor Hat for Kolkata Knight Riders?

Speculations were further fueled when Gambhir, in a recent interview with a television channel, suggested his future at the Kolkata-based franchise was uncertain. With the franchises set to submit their list of players for retention by January 4 and even Gambhir not sure about his future, it looks likely that he will go under the hammer. But while it will become clear this week whether Gambhir dons the KKR jersey once again or not, the fact that Kallis is also not aware of any development about the southpaw’s future in the team certainly raises a few eyebrows.

ALSO READ: RCB and KKR in Quandary over Retaining Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir

“I haven’t heard anything about that. You can’t say anything until the auction is done. You have to wait till it works out and which players we get to take,” he told Hindustan Times when asked about Gambhir.

Last month, Gambhir had said he hadn’t heard from the club to discuss his possible retention, making it more or less clear that the team is not too keen on securing his services for the upcoming seasons.

“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 another franchise],” Gambhir had said.

ALSO READ: SA vs IND 2018: Gautam Gambhir Might Replace Injured Shikhar Dhawan in the Test Squad

Video of the day: