Published 11:30 IST, June 26th 2020
KXIP's Krishnappa Gowtham considers Rohit Sharma better than Virat Kohli as captain
KXIP star Krishnappa Gowtham picked Rohit Sharma over Virat Kohli because he has played under him at Mumbai Indians where they went on to win the IPL in 2017.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham has been a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for three years now. The hard-hitting batsman has represented three franchises so far. Krishnappa Gowtham was picked by Mumbai Indians in 2017 for ₹2 crores but he didn't feature in a single game for them.
KXIP star Krishnappa Gowtham picks Rohit Sharma over Virat Kohli as captain, rates AB de Villiers over Andre Russell
Gowtham made his IPL debut in 2018 playing for Rajasthan Royals where he scored 144 runs in 17 innings at a strike-rate of 173 and bagged 12 wickets in 22 matches. The Karnataka lad was traded to KXIP ahead of IPL 2020. Not many people know but Gowtham was a part of the IPL-winning team (Mumbai Indians) in 2017 under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma.
During a conversation with Crictracker, Krishnappa Gowtham was asked to pick a better captain between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The KXIP all-rounder replied saying that he would go with Rohit Sharma because he has played under him at Mumbai Indians where they went on to win the tournament under him in the IPL. Gowtham also went on to name MS Dhoni as the best captain in IPL's history. The MS Dhoni-led CSK is the only team to have made it to the playoffs in every edition of the IPL that they have been a part of.
On being asked for which team besides KXIP, MI and RR, he would like to play if he gets an opportunity. Gowtham picked Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gowtham's pick doesn't come as a surprise considering he plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. The 31-year old was also asked to pick between KKR star Andre Russell and RCB's batting mainstay AB de Villiers.
Krishnappa Gowtham responded by saying that considering the way Andre Russell has played in the past two years, he’s been a 'beast'. He added that he got a chance to interview him where he called him a beast. However, Gowtham said that AB de Villiers is someone who can change the game in any given time and considering the energy that he brings into the team, he would back ABD anyday.
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Gowtham also went on to describe a few of the prominent cricketers in one word. The KXIP star called Ajinkya Rahane as 'cool' and Virat Kohli as 'Mr. Consistent'. He called Shane Warne as 'brains' and MS Dhoni as 'captain'. He described Rahul Dravid as 'Eall' and his former teammate at Rajasthan Royals, Steve Smith as 'smart'. Finally, he called his statemates Anil Kumble as 'legend' and KL Rahul as 'star in the making'.
IMAGE COURTESY: KRISHNAPPA GOWTHAM INSTAGRAM
Updated 11:30 IST, June 26th 2020