IPL not my comeback platform: Gautam Gambhir

Out of favour India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir Tuesday refused to take the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a stage to make his comeback.

“I don’t play for individuals but for a team called KKR. I am a part of the team which is the defending champion. I don’t see IPL as my comeback platform,” Gambhir told media persons ahead of KKR’s opening IPL encounter against Delhi Daredevils (DD) Wednesday at the Eden Gardens here.

Gambhir said his team, being the defending champions, was not under pressure. Rather the tag gave them the confidence to play fearless cricket.

“Being the defending champion doesn’t bring pressure, rather it gives you more confidence. We have got the monkey off our backs because in the last five years it was said KKR was more popular outside the field, but with the championship we have proved we can play good cricket on the field as well. This time we can play some fearless cricket. The tag of defending champions will give us more confidence than pressure,” said Gambhir.

The skipper also refused to give much importance to the Eden pitch but hoped to start the tournament on a winning note.

“Hopefully the Eden track will be lucky for us this time because we have not been able to put points on our table when it comes to our first match. So, we hope to turn the table this time around,” added Gambhir.

He also said that the team was unperturbed by the absence of hard hitting batsman Brendon McCullum due to injury, as there were many quality players to replace him.