Salt shares his respect to Gambhir

Phil Salt of KKR encapsulates his former mentor Gautam Gambhir in a single word and shares the India coach's top piece of advice during IPL 2024.

Gautam Gambhir played a pivotal role in KKR's success, leading the franchise to its third title in IPL 2024. England opener Philip Salt praised Gambhir, who is now the head coach of India, for his significant contributions to Kolkata Knight Riders' triumph this season. Salt, who opened for KKR, credited his mentor for offering essential guidance that improved his performance in the challenging Indian conditions.

Salt highlighted the importance of Gambhir's mentorship in adapting to the subcontinent's challenges, expressing admiration for the former Indian opener's fierce competitive spirit. "It was a brilliant experience; there's nothing better than coming in and winning the IPL. GG (Gambhir) is well-known among Indian cricket fans and globally. His playing record speaks volumes, and what stood out to me was listening to him in a mentoring role," Salt remarked during the CEAT Cricketing Rating Awards.

Salt noted that Gambhir's relentless drive to improve both individual players and the team resonated with him profoundly. "If I had to describe him in one word, it would be ‘competitor.’”

The England international also shared that Gambhir had clear expectations for him, providing a well-defined game plan for the season. "The key piece of advice I received from GG was to take the game deep, especially here in India. After my very first training session, he pulled me aside and told me he believed I would score runs for the team, but he wanted most of those runs to come between the 10th and 20th overs at Eden Gardens," Salt recounted.

"He emphasised that even if it starts off slowly, I needed to stick around and capitalise on the later overs because I could score quickly. Out of all our conversations, I believe that's the best coaching advice I received," he added.

Following the season's conclusion, Gambhir departed from KKR to become the head coach of the Indian men's team, succeeding Rahul Dravid.