Gautam Gambhir made a rare IPL appearance on Thursday as the India head coach was spotted attending the clash between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Gambhir was seen seated alongside India selector R. P. Singh during the match, with the two engaged in a long discussion through different phases of the game.
The India head coach was also spotted chatting with BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla in the stands.
This was the first time Gambhir was seen attending an IPL match since his successful mentor stint with KKR in IPL 2024, where he guided the franchise to the title before eventually taking over as India’s head coach later that year.
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And honestly, the venue almost felt fitting.
Gambhir’s IPL story started in Delhi when the franchise was still called the Delhi Daredevils. After building his legacy with KKR, where he won two IPL titles as captain and another as mentor, Gambhir returned to Delhi for one final IPL season in 2018 before retiring from all forms of cricket later that year.
WHY WAS GAMBHIR ATTENDING DC vs KKR?
There has been no official confirmation around Gambhir’s visit, but with India’s packed international calendar coming up, many around the cricket circuit believe the India head coach and selector RP Singh may have been watching the game partly from a scouting perspective too.
India still have a heavy schedule left in 2026 across formats.
The team is set to tour Sri Lanka and New Zealand for Test assignments later this year, while home white-ball series against West Indies and Sri Lanka are also lined up.
The highly anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia is also scheduled to begin in January 2027.
With several young Indian players impressing in IPL 2026, the presence of both Gambhir and RP Singh together naturally sparked speculation around selection discussions and player monitoring.
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