'Not pushing Suryakumar Yadav...' - Gautam Gambhir reveals biggest regret during successful stint as KKR captain

Former Indian opener and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir had a successful stint as the KKR franchise's skipper from 2011-2017. Under his captaincy, KKR won the title twice -- in 2012 and 2014 -- and saw plenty of players go onto make a name for themselves.

Recently, Gambhir revealed the biggest regret that he has during his KKR captaincy tenure. Under Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav made a name as a finisher and was an integral part of the KKR setup. However, the former Indian opener feels KKR's inability to promote SKY up the order and maximise his potential, during his leadership, remains his biggest regret.

Speaking onStar Sports, Gambhirsaid:"The only regret I have is not pushing Suryakumar Yadav at No. 3. There were players like Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan, and so we had to always use him as a finisher. A lot of players go on from one franchise to another. From KKR's point of view, this has to be KKR's biggest loss, letting go of Suryakumar Yadav."

"He is someone whom we groomed for four years and then let him go and now he is at the peak of his career. Because we couldn't give him that position (NO. 3), he was not able to get those 400-500 runs in a season, batting at No. 7. Someone's loss is someone else's massive gain. And that is exactly what happened with Mumbai Indians. KKR let go of him and now he has become a mainstay of MI's batting line-up," Gambhir added.

At present, SKY remains a vital cog in Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) setup. He has crossed the 400-run mark in the previous three IPL editions and is a mainstay in the Mumbai camp. He has also established himself as a limited-overs batsman for Team India.