New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) India head coach Gautam Gambhir has arrived at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 contest between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a fixture that carries huge significance for both teams if they are to maintain themselves in the race to the playoffs.

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.

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.

Gambhir’s watchful presence has added a layer of intrigue to an already high‑stakes encounter. With Gambhir and Kotak in attendance, the duo is expected to keep an eye on performances in Friday’s clash featuring many regular India players ahead of the side’s upcoming international assignments across all three formats.

After winning the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup on home soil in March, India’s priorities will be on entering the World Test Championship (WTC) final and winning the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup, to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, apart from building the T20I team for defending the silverware in the shortest format in 2028 and taking the field for the Los Angeles Olympics in the same year.

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.

–IANS

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