Kevin Pietersen and Gautam Gambhir were flamboyant as batters and outspoken in nature. Both have made quite a name as broadcasters and commentators for calling a spade a spade. But what happens when the two come face-to-face with a difference of opinion? Fireworks, right? Well, not exactly.
Gambhir set the perfect platform by lambasting Pietersen and AB de Villiers for criticising Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in IPL 2024. Both the great cricketers questioned Hardik’s leadership for Mumbai India’s dismal show in the 17th edition of the tournament. However, Gambhir hit back at Pietersen and de Villiers, saying that both have nothing to show as leaders.
“When they themselves did captaincy [were captains], what were their own performances like? I do not think that whether it is Kevin Pietersen or AB de Villiers, there have ever been performances in their careers from a leadership point of view. Nothing. If you look up their records, I think it’s worse than any other leader,” Gambhir said on Sportskeeda.
The video of Gambhir’s opinion on Pietersen and de Villiers’ captaincy went viral on Tuesday. Later in the day, Pietersen took note of that and decided to drop in a comment.
Surprisingly, the former England batter did not say anything feisty. He, in fact agreed with Gambhir and added a few laughing emojis to see the lighter side of things.
“He’s not wrong. I was a terrible captain!!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂,” Pietersen wrote on X tagging Gambhir.
Gambhir and Pietersen’s numbers as captain
So, how good or bad was Pietersen as a captain? He captained England in 15 matches – 12 ODIs and 3 Tests. While his performance with the bat was brilliant – he averaged 52 in the matches he captained England – the overall outcome was not that good. England lost seven of those 15 matches that Pietersen captained and won only five while one Test was drawn and two matches ended in no results.
Pietersen’s numbers as an IPL captain are worse. In the only season that he led Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) in 2014, they finished last with only two wins in 14 matches.
Gambhir, on the other hand, has an outstanding record as captain. He led India in six ODIs, where he averaged 90 with the bat. Moreover, India won four of those. Gambhir’s record as an IPL leader needs no introduction. He is the only captain after Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni to win more than one IPL title as a leader. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the time in 2012 and 2014 and was the captain of the franchise for seven seasons.
Gambhir is currently the mentor of KKR and they have already ensured a top-two finish with 19 points in the kitty with a match still to go.