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IPL 2025: 3 Tactical Lessons Rahane Can Take From Gautam Gambhir To Retain IPL Title

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @Prat1k_, @KKRUltras/x.com]Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane [Source: @Prat1k_, @KKRUltras/x.com]

Gautam Gambhir was known for is performances in the clutch matches during his playing career. After hanging up his boots, the Indian batter is establishing himself as a master tactician and trophy collector mentoring the KKR team to success and then the Indian team to Champions Trophy 2025 win. 

The Kolkata Knight Riders will walk into the IPL 2025 as the defending champions but this time under a different leader, Ajinkya Rahane. The 36-year-old Indian batter will be leading the team and will try and repeat the success of Shreyasy Iyer from the previous season.

As Rahane gets ready to walk out with his Knights to the Eden Gardens on 22nd March, he could certainly try and take a few pages out of Gambhir's tactics book. Here is a look at three tactcial calls GG took during his KKR time that Rahane can repeat. 

3. The Six Bowler Working Combination

During the IPL 2024, Gautam Gambhir worked out a combination that gave KKR six proper bowlers in most of the matches. With Sunil Narine opening and delivering effectiuvely, they had the option of bringing in an additional speicalist bowler in the playing  combination. 

Walking into IPL 2025, Ajinkya Rahane should not tinker with this combintaion. The effectivity of the six proper bowling option would allow him flexibility as a leader. He can switch around his bowlers and if one of the fails and also turn to a few of the part time options in Venkatesh Iyer and Ramandeep Singh. 

2. Trusting Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana

Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana [Source: @iamswapnilvats/x.com]Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana [Source: @iamswapnilvats/x.com]

Even with the likes of Mitchell Starc in the side, Gautam Gambhir trusted his young Indian pacers Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora in IPL 2024. While Harshit Rana picked up 19 wickets in the season, Arora had 11 saclps under his belt. Both the bowlers were on the expensive side but with how high scoring the games were in the previous edition, it can expempted since they were effective in pickinh up wickets.

As the skipper of the team, Rahane needs to conyinue shwoing his trust on his young Indian pacers. He would have the likes of Anrich Nortje and Spencer Johnson in the bench to use. But distrusting either of the Indian pacers after one or two bad peformances and using up an overeas spot for it might result him in having less efficiency in team selection.

1. Carrying On With Sunil Narine, the Opener

One of the biggest surprise moves from Gautam Gambhir, the mentor during IPL 2024 was choosing to open with Sunil Narine. The West Indian all-rounder stood up the expectation of the team and scored 488 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 180.74. 

The impact that Sunil Narine provided at the top played a huge role in KKR going to the final of the tournament and finally lifting the trophy. With Rahane at the helm of things, he should not tinker with Narine's opening spot. The job for him will be to find the perfect partner for Narine, who can complement him and serve the team to have one more successful campaign.