“I wish I had it, I did not have that” - When Gautam Gambhir hailed an Indian batter for his stability

Back in 2023, Gautam Gambhir was of high praise for Team India opener KL Rahul and his stability when it came to his batting and decision-making ability. Gambhir said that he admired the quality of the player and wished he had it.

KL Rahul and Gautam Gambhir were brought in as captain and mentor, respectively, for the newly created franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2022. The duo led LSG to consecutive playoff appearances before Gambhir left the role in 2024 to join his former IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Rahul had endured a tough time in whites during early 2023, with the batter being dropped after uninspiring performances in the first two Test of the 2023 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Speaking at the LSG jersey launch held around that time, Gambhir was of high praise for his skipper and backed him, saying:

"We are very fortunate to have someone like KL Rahul, who has a very stable and balanced head. I wish I had it, I did not have that. I was very extreme but it did work for me. For a franchise like Lucknow, it is important to have someone like KL at the helm. Going forward, this is going to be a massive positive for us.

"It starts with the captain. The captain is the flag bearer of the team. It is the captain's team. All of us in the dressing room are there to support him. No support staff is under as much pressure as the captain. It is the body language of the captain that will decide how we perform."

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KL Rahul has been a key part of the Indian Test team in recent times

Owing to his versatility, KL Rahul has been used in different positions in the batting order by Gautam Gambhir in the Test side. Gambhir backed KL Rahul in the No.6 position in the Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand before dropping him from the XI.

Most recently, KL Rahul was asked to bat at the top of the order in the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy. The 32-year-old scored 276 runs in 10 innings and finished as Team India's third-highest run-getter for the series.