Gautam Gambhir Attends DC vs KKR Match, Engages In Long Chat With BCCI Selector
Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir was in attendance at the IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on Friday.
- Gautam Gambhir was in attendance at the IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals
- Gambhir was seated beside India selector RP Singh, and the duo engaged in a long discussion during the match
- The India head coach was also seen having a conversation with BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla
Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir was in attendance at the IPL 2026 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on Friday. Gambhir was seated beside India selector RP Singh, and the duo engaged in a long discussion during the encounter. The India head coach was also seen having a conversation with BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla. This was the first time that Gambhir has been seen attending an IPL match since his mentor stint with KKR in 2024, when they won their third IPL title. BCCI selectors have been attending matches throughout IPL 2026 to keep an eye on upcoming talent and the presence of Gambhir during the match sparked curiosity among the fans.
Gautam Gambhir, The two-time IPL-winning captain for KKR and former DC captain
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 8, 2026
A leader admired by both fanbases is here. #TATAIPL Revenge Week 2026#DCvKKR | LIVE NOWhttps://t.co/Kg31E4o7KB pic.twitter.com/CnPEZL9EEU
Coming to the match, Pathum Nissanka struck a composed fifty but Kolkata Knight Riders spinners strangled Delhi Capitals, restricting the hosts to a modest 142 for 8.
The spin trio of Anukul Roy (2/31), Sunil Narine (1/17) and Varun Chakravarthy (0/28) delivered a masterclass in slow bowling, sharing three wickets among themselves while choking the scoring rate in the middle overs.
Pacers Kartik Tyagi (2/25), Vaibhav Arora (1/29) and Cameron Green (1/12) complement them well.
If it wasn't for Ashutosh Sharma's 39 off 28 balls which was laced with three boundaries and as many sixes, DC would have struggled to even cross the 100-run mark.
Asked to bat, Nissanka (50) and KL Rahul (23) provided Delhi a fluent start, with the Sri Lankan taking the aggressive route early, striking the innings' first boundary and six.
KKR, however, showed complete faith in their spin resources from the outset, handing the ball to Roy and Narine inside the powerplay.
Though the Delhi openers negotiated the challenge well initially, the pressure steadily mounted as the spinners dried up the boundaries post the powerplay.
Once Tyagi and Green removed Rahul and Nitish Rana (8) in quick succession, KKR unleashed their spin stranglehold in full force.
Chakravarthy turned the screws with a suffocating three-run over spell, forcing the batters into riskier options.
Narine then struck immediately after returning to the attack, dismissing Sameer Rizvi, who miscued a sweep straight to deep midwicket.
Nissanka briefly resisted, bringing up his fifty with a crisp boundary through extra cover, but Roy outfoxed him off the very next delivery as the batter was stumped trying to break free.
Roy then compounded Delhi's misery by bamboozling Tristan Stubbs in the same over, triggering another collapse as DC lost four wickets in the middle overs while KKR's spinners completely strangled the innings.
Ashutosh finally broke the 38-ball boundary drought with a six. He followed it up with back-to-back boundaries to collect 16 runs off the 17th over before adding another six and a four.Â
(With PTI inputs)
Gautam Gambhir
Delhi Capitals
Kolkata Knight Riders