Criticised time and again for backing his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mates Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and even Shreyas Iyer for national selection, Gautam Gambhir made the entire cricket fanbase on social media take a U-turn. Gambhir was reportedly the mind behind Varun Chakravarthy’s inclusion in India’s ODI squad for the ICC Champions Trophy despite the fact that the mystery spinner hadn’t made his debut in the 50-over format until the England series right before the marquee event. Yet, Varun shone with the ball in the match against New Zealand on Sunday, proving why Gambhir was right to back him.
With the bat, it was Shreyas Iyer who stabilised India’s sinking ship after the team lost the trio of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early. Mocked repeatedly on social media for using ‘KKR quota’ in international selection, Gambhir saw fans’ sentiments drastically change as fans lauded him on the internet for the said bold selection calls.
Iyer was India’s top-scoring batter in the Group B match against the Kiwis, scoring 79 runs off 98 balls while Varun bagged his maiden 5-wicket haul in ODIs. Courtesy of the duo’s performance in Dubai, India managed to successfully defend the total of 249/9 against New Zealand and finish the group stage at the No. 1 spot.