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

Will Gautam Gambhir be seen donning the mentor hat of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)? If a report in Mirror is to be believed, then it has been learned that the franchise KKR and Gautam Gambhir talked about the future and franchise offered the mentor role to the veteran player.

(Read Here: CSK retain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina ahead of IPL auction)

The news has come just a few days after Gambhir declared that he had no talks with the franchise over his future. The last date to submit the list of retained players is January 4, and the franchise should have contacted Gambhir had they planned to keep him, but Gambhir’s words have indicated that the franchise might not retain him.

The reports earlier had suggested the team might retain Sunil Narine, due to the all-round skills he possesses. Narine, apart from bowling, opened the innings for the side as well in last IPL. The presence of Narine will provide the team with an all-rounder who can hit the ball right from the first ball, which is the basic need of T20 cricket.

In just a weeks time, it will be clear whether KKR retains Narine, Gambhir or no player before the auction.

However, the news of Gambir getting offered a mentor role is interesting, as many players in IPL are performing the role of coach and mentor for the franchises for which they have played. From Stephen Fleming to Virender Sehwag, Daniel Vettori to Sachin Tendulkar as well, they all player opted for a mentoring role for the franchise they played for.

Gambhir though has a personal experience of mentoring a team as well as presently; he is the unofficial mentor of a young Delhi team. Having led the team in past four seasons and now helping Rishab Pant in the role, Gambhir had performed well on batting front and in the role of a senior member of Delhi team as well.

Talking of other teams in IPL, only Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have revealed they will not let MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina go under the hammer. For the other players, they might use the Right to Match card (RTM) card on the auction day.

The IPL auction will take place on January 27 and 28 in Bangalore while the eleventh edition of the T20 league will star in the first week of April.

(Read Here: Video – MS Dhoni quick glovework to dismiss Asela Gunaratne)

(Read Here: David Warner urges his SRH teammate to come good in BBL 7)

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