Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir is likely to be unavailable for the next season of IPL as the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for due to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. According to reports, Gambhir is not moving to a different franchise but just taking a break to focus on political commitments in an important election year. “Yes, Gautam Gambhir is likely to just take a break for the next IPL to political commitments. He is not moving to a different team or leaving franchises. There will be a lot of political work involved in the build-up to the Lok Sabha elections, so he wants to focus all his energies towards that,” a source was quoted as saying to News18 CricketNext.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from East Delhi is a strong figure in Delhi politics and his constituency has been a saving grace for the party. In the MCD polls, which were won by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Gambhir’s East Delhi parliamentary constituency saw 21 out of the 36 wards going BJP’s way. It was the party’s best-performing constituency in the polls. Considering his popularity and performance, Gambhir is likely to be a key campaigning figure for the general elections next year, between the month of April and May. “Gautam is a big face for BJP in Delhi and elsewhere also his popularity is right up there. So he will be actively involved in election work next year and will not have enough time for the IPL,” adds the source. Earlier speculations were rife that, Gambhir will be joining Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2024. Gautam Gambhir is a highly respectable figure in KKR thanks to his highly successful stint as captain for the franchise. Gautam Gambhir led the team to two IPL titles and made them one of the powerhouses of the IPL during his reign from 2011 to 2017. Chandrakant Pandit has been currently serving as the head coach of the franchise and failed to guide the team to the playoffs in his maiden IPL season this year. KKR have not won the IPL since 2014
