Gautam Gambhir Out Of IPL 2024 Due To 'This' Political Reason

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Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian cricketer and two-time World Champion is set to miss IPL 2024 due to Lok Sabha Elections in 2024. Gautam Gambhir was Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) Mentor in the 2022 and 2023 IPL and recently, there were reports of Gambhir joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the next IPL season. However, according to News18, he will not be joining KKR in IPL 2024 and has only decided to take the break because of the all-important Lok Sabha Elections in 2024.

Gautam Gambhir: A cricketer-turned Politician

Gambhir is currently BJP's MP From East Delhi and has been part of Lok Sabha after winning the seat in the 2019 elections. He has since been actively involved in politics but has continued his association with cricket. He has been seen as a commentator in recent times while in the IPL, he took the role of Mentor for LSG, a new franchise that played its first season in 2022.

This is what a source told News18 -

“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."

According to the source, there will be lot of political work in the build-up to big Lok Sabha elections and Gambhir being a popular and a key asset for BJP, is looking to focus all his energies on the elections. 

“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 2024."

Gautam Gambhir is currently enjoying his cricket in the US Masters T10 League and officially, Gambhir or LSG management have not given any confirmation regarding Gambhir's unavailability for the 2024 IPL season. However, they have made some big changes in the support staff with Justin Langer coming in as head coach in place of Andy Flower along with MSK Prasad's appointment as Strategic Consultant.

LSG qualified for the playoffs in both 2022 and 2023 season and Gambhir's absence for the upcoming season will surely be a big blow for the two-season old franchise.