England opener Phil Salt recently shared how veteran Gautam Gambhir’s advice stood him in good stead during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The talented batter had a great season at the top of the order and he played a vital role in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning their third IPL title. Salt added an excellent chemistry with Sunil Narine, and the duo added successful partnerships.
He finished with 435 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 182. He also recalled how Gautam Gambhir’s advice to bat deep had changed his perception and he also helped him build an innings better as well.
“I think the main bit of advice that I took from GG was to take the game deep, especially here in India. You know, from the moment I got off the first training session, he sat me down, he said, ‘I know you’re going to score runs for us, but I want you to score the majority of your runs between overs 10 and 20’, he said at Eden Gardens,” Phil Salt said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricketing Rating Awards.
ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill
“Even if you know it can be a little bit slow to start with, I want you to hang in there and make sure you’re there from overs 10 onwards and get the big overs because you can score so quickly’, and I think you know of all the conversations I had, I think that’s the best bit of you know coaching I had,” he further added.
However, he scored four fifties during the campaign, even remaining unbeaten on 89 once to help KKR defeat the Lucknow Super Giants
(LSG) at Eden Gardens. Salt’s exploits in the IPL 2024 led to him opening the innings for England in the 2024 T20 World Cup as well, and he went onto lead the Manchester Originals in the recently concluded 2024 Hundred as well.
“What a competitor. I could really relate to him from that point of view. He’s always looking for those one per cent what’s going to get the individual to be better and what’s going to get the team over the line. So I loved working for him. You know one word would be a competitor,” Phil Salt said.
