Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave appreciation to head coach Chandrakant Pandit, owner Shah Rukh Khan, and mentor Gautam Gambhir for relieving him of some of the burden prior to KKR’s first-round qualifier against SRH. The Knight Riders defeated the Sunrisers by eight wickets on Tuesday, May 21, and advanced to the Sunday, May 26 final at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Gurbaz was chosen to play in the T20I series against Pakistan when Phil Salt returned to England, having spent the whole league phase on the bench. Before T Natarajan accounted for his wicket, he scored 23 runs off 14 balls with two fours and as many sixes, proving he did not let his side down. Along with Sunil Narine, he shared a useful 44-run opening wicket partnership in 3.2 overs.
“You have nothing to worry about if your top management is as good as KKR’s. The head coach is there, as is GG sir and Shah Rukh sir. That’s all because of them, and they are family. I haven’t played in a while, so going into the playoffs right now is really stressful. Gurbaz stated in the news conference following the game, “They relieved me of all the pressure and told me to just go out and enjoy.”
On a great batting pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, KKR knocked the SRH out for 159 in 19.3 overs after being asked to field first. Following his three scalps, Mitchell Starc was excellent. Gurbaz declared without hesitation that the current IPL’s top bowling assault belonged to KKR.
