Piyush Chawla denies Gautam Gambhir all credit for KKR's unforgettable IPL 2014 victory

Veteran legspinner Piyush Chawla has claimed that Gautam Gambhir alone does not deserve the credit for Kolkata Knight Riders' historic title win in IPL 2014. Chawla believes that the contribution from every player mattered during that season which took KKR to their second-ever IPL win.

Piyush Chawla was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders before the IPL 2014 season. The legspinner proved to be a lucky charm for the team as KKR won its second IPL trophy in three years. Fittingly, Chawla hit the winning runs in the final with a boundary through the off side.

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Gautam Gambhir alone doesn't deserve the credit for KKR's IPL 2014 title win - Piyush Chawla

During a YouTube show '2 Sloggers', Piyush Chawla was asked how KKR managed to win the title despite being in such a tricky position and who deserves the credit for that. The host mentioned the role of Gautam Gambhir but Chawla felt that every player deserves the credit for KKR's famous win.

"Gautam Gambhir might look like an angry player on the field but he is a smart person off the field. That's the best thing about him. You can't call it anger. That's his aggression and passion. There are some people who show it on the field while some do not show it," Chawla said on Gautam Gambhir's behavior.

"But if you talk about belief, when you win a tournament by winning nine matches on the trot, just one player does not deserve credit for that. There was contribution from everyone every now and then," Chawla claimed.

The 35-year-old further elaborated on the roles of different players including the three spinners. He also praised Robin Uthappa for an outstanding season with the bat and Gautam Gambhir for the consistency he showed later in the tournament.

"If you talk about that season (2014), we used to play with three spinners - me (Piyush Chawla), Sunil Narine, and Shakib Al Hasan. Out of us, Sunil did not bat, Shakib was a proper batter and I used to bat a bit. Yusuf (Pathan) used to bowl when needed."

"Robin (Uthappa) had an outstanding season with the bat and Manish Pandey also batted well. If you look at Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir), he did not start well that season but he scored fifties consistently afterwards. In T20 cricket, you don't need hundreds or nineties, you just need impactful fifties, which Gambhir did proficiently. So, the contribution was from everyone," Chawla added.

Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa led the way for KKR

Gautam Gambhir had a disappointing start to the season in IPL 2014 as he was dismissed for low scores on a consistent basis. But the former KKR skipper showed tremendous consistency in the end and played like a captain.

On the other hand, Gambhir's opening partner Robin Uthappa emerged as the highest run-scorer of the season as he scored 660 runs in 16 matches at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 137.78. Uthappa was also KKR's designated wicketkeeper that season.

Kolkata Knight Riders won nine matches on the trot to clinch the IPL 2014 title. They won one more match in the first match of the next season to make it ten wins in a row. It is still the record-winning streak by any team in IPL history.