Gautam Gambhir urges selectors to keep an eye on Robin Uthappa
NEW DELHI : Despite being pushed down from opening to No. 3 spot, Robin Uthappa has been one of the Indian Premier League 2017 season’s top performer and has almost single handedly won games for Kolkata Knight Riders on at least a couple of occasions.
Uthappa’s form in IPL 10 has made the entire cricket fraternity question on why he isn’t a part of the Indian national team. As far as the KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir’s views on the subject is concerned, hee too has the same question in mind.
After Gambhir and Uthappa paired up to sweep aside Delhi Daredevils in the IPL encounter on Friday, the KKR captain urged BCCI national selectors to re-consider Uthappa for Indian team, not just for his performance with the bat but behind the stumps too.
“Uthappa too was brilliant behind and in front of the stumps (against Rising Pune Supergiant). Three stumpings and one of them being a game-changer really helped us. And while batting he displayed beautiful hitting technique. What stood for me was his ability to hit the ball straight. I hope selectors are watching,” Gambhir wrote in a column titled Captain’s Diary for the franchise’s official website.
“In the end I was satisfied that I also played some part in the win through my batting. To tell you the truth the credit for my innings should also go to Uthappa. I could ease myself in because he was taking risks and smoking them. These are the reasons I love this game – team work and selflessness,” the Delhi-born batsman added.
Chasing a modest 161, KKR were nine for one in the second over, but Uthappa (59 from 33 balls) and Gambhir put together a 108-run partnership off just 66 balls to lay the foundation. After Uthappa was run out, Gambhir held fort and led the team from the front with an unbeaten 71 from 52 balls (11×4) to complete the chase with 22 balls to spare. He also completed 6000 runs in T20 cricket.
This was their fourth century partnership while chasing in IPL — the most by any pair going past David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan’s three. KKR haven’t lost while chasing at Eden Gardens since IPL 2012.
