Not starting the IPL would have been the worst decision made by BCCI: Gautam Gambhir

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir believes that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket. According to him, had the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not decided to start the IPL, it would have been the worst decision made by them.

The BCCI started the IPL in 2008 and the tournament has grown to become the most popular and the most lucrative T20 cricket league in the world. Recently, the mini-auction for the 2024 season saw Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins being sold for record prices of ₹24.75 crore and ₹20.50 crore respectively.

In a “What If” Q & A session on Sportskeeda’s YouTube channel, Gambhir was asked, what if the BCCI had never started the IPL. He replied:

“I think it would have been the worst decision made by BCCI because IPL is the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket.”

Replying to a query on what he would have been had he not been a cricketer, the former opener said:

“I would have been in the Army.”

Responding on another question on whether he would be willing to be the batting coach of the Indian cricket team, the 42-year-old stated that he hasn’t thought about it.

“Too many things on my plate at the moment. I haven’t thought about it,” he said.

Gambhir was the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise during the IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons. For the IPL 2024 season, he has been named mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the team he led to two title wins as captain.

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“Other games would have got more interesting” - Gambhir on what would have happened if Mujeeb had taken Maxwell catch

One of the big moments of the 2023 World Cup came when Mujeeb Ur Rahman dropped Glenn Maxwell during the league match between Australia and Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Maxwell made Afghanistan pay by cracking a double ton and single-handedly lifted Australia to a crucial three-wicket win.

Asked if Australia would have reached the World Cup final had Mujeeb taken Maxwell’s catch, Gambhir replied:

“They still could have reached the semi-final. They would have beaten Bangladesh, but then probably the other games would have got more interesting.”

After beginning the tournament will losses to India and South Africa, the Aussies went on to beat the Proteas in the semi-final and the Men in Blue in the final to lift the ODI World Cup for the sixth time.