IPL Is A Platform To Showcase Your Talent, Not To Get Entry In Team India: Gautam Gambhir Wants Players To Play For Lucknow Super Giants

Former Indian player Gautam Gambhir wants the players to have a vision and dedication to play for the franchise rather than playing for India.

Gambhir, who played in 11 IPL seasons for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) and Kolkata Knight Riders, is likely to start a new role of a mentor with Lucknow Super Giants (one of the two new franchises).

Want players thinking of playing for the franchise: Gautam Gambhir

The two-time IPL winning captain wants the players to give their cent percent in helping the Lucknow franchise in winning the tournament.

Gambhir wants young players to not think about playing for India as he feels that if they perform well for the franchise then eventually they will play international cricket.

“When I’ve captained, I have always said I don’t want players thinking of playing for India. I want players thinking of playing for the franchise. Playing for India is just the byproduct,” Gambhir said in a discussion on Backstage with Boria.

“If you think of playing for India and you start saying that Lucknow gives me that platform to play for India, then you are being dishonest to the franchise. But if you were to play for Lucknow and deliver it for Lucknow, eventually you will end up playing for India,” he added.

IPL is not a platform to go on to play for India: Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir also said that the Indian Premier League is a platform for players to display their talent and not a door to make their case for playing in the Indian team.

“So probably in those two months, I would not want any of the players saying or thinking that my job or my ultimate aim is to play for India. Their ultimate aim for those two months is to win the tournament for the franchise. And if they look to do that with their performances, they will eventually go on to play for India,” Gambhir said.

“And IPL is not a platform to go on to play for India. IPL is a platform to showcase your talent to the world, and that is how players should think about it,” Gambhir added.

The Lucknow Super Giants, which is owned by the Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group, has signed Indian batter KL Rahul, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and young spinner Ravi Bishnoi for IPL 2022.

Rahul, who was the captain of Punjab Kings for the last two seasons, will lead the Lucknow outfit in its maiden season in IPL.

Also Read: IPL 2022: So Much To Learn From Gautam Gambhir – KL Rahul