IPL 2020 is just 6 days away from its commencement and all the eight teams are gearing up for the tournament. The former players have begun giving their expert opinion over the teams and players. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir, the former KKR skipper has also given his verdict. The Southpaw said that he is eagerly waiting for Nicholas Pooran to perform well under Anil Kumble’s mentorship.
KXIP bagged Pooran’s services back in IPL 2018 auction at a price of INR 4.20 Crore. In the very first season, he struggled to get a consistent place in the side due to overseas player rule. However, he still managed to leave his mark with his bang-on performances. Even, former KXIP director of operations Mike Hesson quoted Pooran as the “Young Chris Gayle”. In his maiden IPL stint, Pooran smacked 168 runs off 7 games with a brilliant strike rate of 157.
Gautam Gambhir wants to watch Nicholas Pooran in IPL 2020
In an interview, Gambhir said that he is eagerly waiting for Pooran to perform well in IPL 2020 for KXIP. He added that everyone talks about AB de Villiers as a 360-Degree batsman. Meanwhile, their Pooran is also a similar kind of player. As per the former World Cup winner, the 24-year-old Windies wicket-keeper batsman also has a vast range of strokes.
Gambhir also recited that a player like Pooran is expected to perform astonishingly well under Anil Kumble’s guidance.
“For me, Nicholas Pooran is the young player I would like to watch in this IPL. We talk about AB de Villiers as a 360-degree player but Nicholas Pooran has all types of shots. He can play the reverse sweep, normal sweep, and is capable of playing the big shots,” Gambhir said during a discussion on Star Sports’ chat show Cricket Connected.
“So, such a player, when he plays under a coach like Anil Kumble, I have full confidence that Anil Kumble will be able to extract the best out of him. A great coach, who had won Mumbai Indians the title, I would want to see what he can do with the Kings XI,” he added.
