Apart from Gambhir, dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, his wife Natasha has also accompanied him to the stadium, and so has India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. Gambhir has strong ties to both franchises, captaining KKR to two Indian Premier League (IPL) titles in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and also represented DC in two spells of his playing career in the competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The duo was later seen sitting with BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and senior men's selection committee member RP Singh in the hospitality stands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gambhir\u2019s watchful presence has added a layer of intrigue to an already high\u2011stakes encounter. With Gambhir and Kotak in attendance, the duo is expected to keep an eye on performances in Friday\u2019s clash featuring many regular India players ahead of the side\u2019s upcoming international assignments across all three formats.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The duo was later seen sitting with BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and senior men's selection committee member RP Singh in the hospitality stands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gambhir and Kotak, along with fast bowling coach Morne Morkel, fielding coach T. Dilip, and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, will regroup when India takes on Afghanistan in a one-off Test in New Chandigarh from June 6-10, before the three ODIs between the two teams take place in Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Chennai on June 14, 17, and 20, respectively. It is followed by a two-game T20I series in Ireland and white-ball tours of England and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n