Sheldon Jackson credited former India opener Gautam Gambhir for backing him and picking him in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad when nobody knew him. The Saurashtra wicketkeeper-batter, who has been a regular performer in domestic cricket, has never really got a break in the big stage, be it for India or even the Indian Premier League. It was Gambhir, during the latter half of his days as KKR captain, who picked the right-hander and handed him his IPL debut in 2017.
Jackson said he always looks up to Gambhir and considers the two-time IPL-winning captain who was a part of the Lucknow Super Giants support staff last year, as his idol.
“Gautam Gambhir literally made me who I am today. He picked me up from a Ranji Trophy team and he backed me back then when no one knew me. He got me into KKR and groom me. He is my idol. Even till date if I want to speak to him, he is the one man I always look up to,” Jackson told Sportskeeda.
Jackson has been a part of the KKR set-up ever since. The right-hander, however, hasn’t really got regular opportunities. After four matches in 2017, he had to wait for 5 years to get his next opportunity in the IPL. He managed to play 5 matches in IPL 2022 without making much of an impression with the bat.
Jackson, who averages over 50 in first-class cricket, also credited former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for “mentoring” him in last year’s IPL. Harbhajan was a part of the KKR set-up till last year before announcing his retirement in 2022.
“Last year I connected with Harbhajan Singh when he was with KKR and he mentored me. He never needed to do that, he is a legend. But when I was not scoring and was low, it was him that I spoke to and he effortlessly used to give his time. Because of such people, you want to give yourself another try. Me and my family owe a lot to them,” he said.
KKR are currently led by Shreyas Iyer, who incidentally had replaced Gambhir as the Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) when the latter had stepped down from the role after back-to-back defeats in the first few matches in IPL 2018.
When asked to compare Gambhir and Iyer’s captaincy, Jackson said “both have the ability to get the best out of their players”.
“Both Gambhir and Shreyas are very different captains, but both have the ability to get the best out of their players. Shreyas is very young in his captaincy. But the way he is and the way he is playing, don’t be surprised if he wins championships for KKR or wherever he gets to captain.”