Shreyas Iyer drops 'Gautam Gambhir' remark in response to 'media hype' on leading KKR to IPL 2024 final

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer came up with a cheeky response before hailing Gautam Gambhir's “immense” contribution in the team's run to the IPL 2024 final

With Kolkata Knight Riders bouncing back from their forgettable 2022 and 2023 seasons, where they finished seventh, to claim the top spot in the points table at the end of the league stage and then become the first team to make the final, mentor Gautam Gambhir was handed all the credit by the fans for making that huge difference. However, on Saturday, ahead of the big final in Chennai against Sunrisers Hyderabad, captain Shreyas Iyer responded to the “media hype” around his captaincy and Gambhir's influence.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer and mentor Gautam Gambhir during a practice session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024(PTI)

Following to poor seasons for KKR, the franchise brought back Gambhir, who had led the side to two IPL titles wins in 2012 and 2014, as a mentor. The ongoing season also saw the return of Iyer as captain after the India star had missed the 2023 season owing to a back injury.

The combination of the two, along with the presence of head coach Chandrankant Pandit worked wonders for KKR to reached the final earlier this week after defeating SRH in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2024.

On Saturday, in the pre-match presser, Iyer was asked about leading two different IPL franchises to the final (Delhi Capitals being the other in 2020) and the influence of Gambhir in shaping the present KKR side. The captain came up with a cheeky response before hailing Gambhir's “immense” contribution.

“The hype is definitely created by you guys. Where I stand is definitely upon you. But talking about Gautam bhai, he has got immense knowledge about how the game is played, has won two titles previously with KKR, and his strategies have been spot on in terms of what we have to execute against our opponents. He adds a lot of cream to the team and hopefully we continue the same momentum in the final,” said.

This is the fourth time KKR reached the final in an IPL season, the last was in 2021, where the side had lost to Chennai Super Kings.

Heading into the match against SRH, KKR, who finished top of the table with nine wins in 14 league games, will hold the edge having defeated the 2016 champions twice this season, the other being in their season opener at home on March 23. KKR had won the thriller by just four runs.