IPL 2022: Does Lucknow need KL Rahul 'the batter who leads' or 'captain who bats'? Mentor Gautam Gambhir speaks

Lucknow Supergiants will need KL Rahul the batter who also leads the team instead of the captain who also bats in the upcoming IPL edition the head of teams thinktank Gautam Gambhir made his expectations loud and clear on TuesdayGambhir one of the finest among IPL skippers with two titles for Kolkata Knight Riders spoke to PTI exclusively on a host of topics including Rahuls leadership team composition and how he intends to handle relation between Deepak Hooda and Krunal PandyaAsked about his expectations from Rahul Gambhir was very categorical in what he wants from his skipperUltimately it is the leader who is the flagbearer of a team and so its Rahul who will lead Lucknow Supergiants on and off the field For me it is important to have KL Rahul the batter who is also the captain of the team rather than KL Rahul the captain who also bats I hope I am able to make you understand the difference Gambhir said during exclusive interactionGambhir would want Rahul to be fearless in his approach and for that he will get all the freedomAny captain should learn to take risks I would want Rahul to take risks and unless you take calculated risks you wont know if you would succeed or not Also this time Quinton de Kock will be our wicketkeeper so with no keeping duties he can be free and relaxed concentrate on his batting and leadership the twotime World Cup winner saidBut does it bother him as Mentor that Rahul could feel the pressure of trying to prove his leadership qualities desperately since he is being talked about as future India leaderKnow one thing There is a difference between being talked up as a future India captain and ultimately being appointed India captain Gambhir was ruthless as everI have never believed that you should play IPL looking at national team IPL is a platform to express ones self One can grow as a leader but there are no guarantees that there is a time period that IPL will help you become India captain Gambhir saidAllrounders giving lot of optionsLucknow Supergiants have an assortment of allrounders right from Jason Holder to Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda and Gambhir believes in having multiskilled cricketersWhen we were preparing the strategy for our team we wanted more allrounders and we got our chairman Dr Sanjiv Goenkas approval I am honoured that he has given me so much respect and at times I wonder whether I deserve so much praise from him he saidIt always helps to have multidimensional cricketers as they give you more options Its always good to have batters who can chip in with two or three oversMark Woods absence is setback but opportunity for someone elseEngland pacer Mark Wood perhaps the fastest bowler in the world with an average speed of 150 kmph has been ruled out due to injury and Gambhir made no bones that its a setbackI wouldnt say I am worried but yes obviously its a setback as you dont have too many bowlers who bowl at that speed like Mark But that also gives an opportunity to someone like Dushmantha Chameera or anyone who gets a chance to prove themselvesHoodaKrunal relationship You dont have to be friends to performDeepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya have had an ugly history when they played domestic cricket for Baroda with the former accusing the latter of bullying him and ultimately leaving the stateNow with both players in the setup Gambhir said that he has had no problems handling the duoLook you dont have to be best friends off the field to perform on it They are professionals and they know that they have a job to do You dont have to go out for dinner every night if you are playing in the same team I have not been friends with everyone in every team that I have played inBut that hasnt stopped me from giving my best when I am out there on the field These are matured people and they know there are here to win matches for Lucknow he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever