Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir has showered big praise on star all-rounder Sunil Narine who helped the franchise win their Indian Premier League (IPL) title last week. Narine was named ‘Most Valuable Player’ of IPL 2024 as KKR defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final last Sunday. Under Gambhir’s mentorship, Narine regained his magical touch, scoring 488 runs and picking up 17 wickets.

In a recent interaction, Gambhir opened up on his camaraderie with Narine, and recalled the latter’s early days in the KKR camp. Gambhir was the captain of KKR when they won the IPL in 2012 and 2014, respectively, with Narine playing a crucial role in both the triumphs.

“Me and Narine are similar characters, and so are our emotions. I still remember that when Narine first came into the IPL in 2012, it was in Jaipur, and we were going for practice, and I told him to come join for lunch. He was so shy that he did not say a single word during lunch, and the first question that he eventually asked was, ‘Can I bring my girlfriend to the IPL?,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda in an interview.

Gambhir suggested that Narine and him are similar persons, and also termed the all-rounder as a brother.

“He was so quiet that first season, but now, we can talk about anything. He is like a brother to me. I don’t see him as a friend, I don’t see him as a teammate, I see him as a brother. If I need him or he needs me, I think we are just one call away, that is the sort of relationship that we have built. We do not get excited much, we do not show too many emotions, we are not flamboyant, we just do the job and come back,” he added.

Gambhir insisted that Narine has always been KKR’s ‘MVP’.

“What can I say about him? Even if he didn’t win the ‘most valuable player award’ he would have still been the MVP. You are looking at his stats but he was KKR’s MVP even before the season got underway. The world has seen his talent as an all-rounder and i’m sure that Narine still has plenty of to give to KKR and world cricket,” he further explained.