'Suryakumar Yadav Is Not Easily Earned By Mumbai Indians': Gautam Gambhir Lashes Out At KKR Management

Former skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Gautam Gambhir, has fired shots at his previous franchise for letting go of talented players like Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar Yadav has turned the biggest match-winner for Mumbai Indians (MI) ever since he has joined the team from KKR in 2018.

Kolkata Knight Riders bought Suryakumar in IPL 2014 but throughout his stint at the Kolkata-based franchise, Suryakumar Yadav couldn’t ignite anything. He was bought by Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2018 and since then, he has gone on to score more than 400 runs in every season of the IPL.

Gautam Gambhir Lashes Out At KKR Management For Easily Letting Go Off Suryakumar Yadav

On Tuesday, the Mumbai-based franchise won their fifth IPL title and Suryakumar Yadav had another exceptional campaign in this year’s IPL. After Mumbai’s win in the final, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir did not seem happy with his former franchise and fired shots at them.

“Suryakumar Yadav is not easily earned by Mumbai Indians. He’s probably the biggest loss that KKR has ever had in 13 years. Someone who was young, came into KKR, played for four years, obviously couldn’t get the number where he should have batted at because of the batting line up we had at that time,” Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.

That Is The Kind Of Players You Want: Gautam Gambhir

“Manish Pandey was batting at No. 3 but he was batting at No. 6 or 7. KKR could have easily built around Suryakumar Yadav. He was the vice-captain when he was leading the side. Made him the vice-captain so that there was easy transition. I could see that leadership quality with Surya,” Gambhir said.

“Very selfless guy, you make him bat at No. 6 or 7. He can bat at any number. There will never be a phase where he’d like to bat at 3. And that is the kind of players you want,” Gambhir further said.

“Probably the biggest loss till now. Yes, players have moved from one franchise to another. Chris Gayle went to some other franchise and there are many other players. But probably for me the biggest loss till now KKR is ever had is probably letting go, Suryakumar Yadav, because you don’t get Indian players with that kind of talent,” Gambhir added.

“We still haven’t seen his leadership quality. He’s got a great head on his shoulder. He knows how to lead a side. Going forward, I’m sure Surya will take charge of this side if he stays with Mumbai Indians,” the former KKR captain concluded.