By CricketCountry Staff
After their title finish at the fifth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), skipper Gautam Gambhir said that that it is important to back every player in the team despite failures because any even small contributions help the team to be successful.
Published: Jun 01, 2012, 01:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 01, 2012, 01:00 PM (IST)
Gautam Gambhir said that the captain is only as good as his team and he always believed that it is necessary to start appreciating the small contributions © AFP
By CricketCountry Staff
New Delhi: June 1. 2012
After their title finish at the fifth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), skipper Gautam Gambhir said that that it is important to back every player in the team despite failures because any even small contributions help the team to be successful.
In an interview to a leading news channel Gambhir said, “The captain is only as good as his team and I’ve always believed that we need to start appreciating the small contributions. I’m a very strong believer in that small contributions will win you games. Major contributions can only make headlines.
“If Manoj [Tiwary] hadn’t scored those two boundaries in the final then no one would have spoken about [Manvinder] Bisla’s unbelievable innings,” he added.
Kolkata had dismal run in the first three editions of IPL. However Gambhir’s induction into the captaincy role since IPL 4, Kolkata has been a different team altogether, reaching the playoffs in 2011 and clinching the title this year.
Experienced players like Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee have praised Gambhir’s captaincy, although the Delhi lad chose to play it down saying it was just his job.
“Whether its KKR or India or Delhi – I’ve tried to do it with complete honesty. When you’re honest and very fair, this is what people will talk about. I’ve always believe that it’s never about individuals. If people or individuals want credit then they should be playing some other sport, not cricket,” said Gambhir.
The Knight Riders skipper heaped praise on the Kolkata fans for backing their team and defended the lavish celebrations saying, “They’ve supported the team throughout and they’ve been very disappointed in the first four IPLs, especially in the first three, though I think we did pretty well in the last one. They deserved all this. All the emotions which came out in the parade and the excitement were fantastic to look at.”
“Before the Pune Warriors game [at Eden Gardens] there was a lot of hype that Bengal will be divided again, and the kind of support that I got from people serving us food in the hotel to the common man forced me to say that there is only one team that belongs to Kolkata, and that is KKR,” Gambhir said referring to the most anticipated match between KKR and Sourav Ganguly led Pune Warriors Indian at Eden Gardens.
Despite the entire controversy surrounding team owner Sharukh Khan Gambhir said he still feels very lucky and honored to have a person like him.
“Apart from winning the game against Delhi [Daredevils] and the final he has kept his emotions to himself, and the kind of support has been exceptional. Forget about cricket, all that he has given us off the field has been tremendous. That says a lot about the quality of the person,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by CNN-IBN.
The opening batsman concluded saying he wished to see Shahrukh khan remain the same as he was in the past. “The only thing I ask is that he remains the same person he’s been over the last two years, because I’ve always believed in one thing – that KKR should be the team that does well on the field, not off it,” said Gambhir.
