'Gautam Gambhir literally made me who I am today': Sheldon Jackson reveals ex-KKR captain's impact on his career

Uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Sheldon Jackson has credited former India batter Gautam Gambhir for backing him during Gambhir’s time at Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League back in 2017, at a time when Sheldon was an unknown name. Gambhir was in his latter days as KKR captain in 2017 when Sheldon made his IPL debut during the tournament’s edition that year. Sheldon has been a consistent performer in the Indian domestic circuit, but has never really got a breakthrough in the Indian team or even in the IPL. In nine matches in his IPL career, Sheldon has scored 61 runs at an average of 10.17. “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 groomed 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,” the 35-year-old was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda. Sheldon was a part of IPL since since 2009, but struggled to get regular opportunities. He played four matches in 2017, he had to wait five years for another game in the IPL. He was bought back by KKR in the 2022 IPL auction for 60 lakhs. He managed five catches and two stumpings in IPL 2022, but with the bat, he just managed 23 runs. Sheldon also credited Harbhajan Singh for mentoring him in IPL 2021. Prior to announcing his retirement earlier this year, Harbhajan was part of the KKR set-up in 2021. “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,” Sheldon, who currently plays for Puducherry in domestic cricket, said.