New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) Gareth Southgate, the former England men’s football team manager who stepped down after the loss in the 2024 Euro finals, said the time of watching IPL 2025 in India has made for an amazing experience, adding that everyone in the country has been very welcoming towards him.
“I love the sport, so it’s lovely to come here and I’ve loved coming to India, it’s the first time I’ve been to India, (and) everybody’s been really welcoming and it’s been an amazing experience,” said Southgate in a video posted on iplt20.com on Monday.
Southgate was seen in attendance for two of Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) games – against Mumbai Indians in Jaipur and against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata. “Last year, Ben Stokes came and talked to the England (football) team and so, also with a lot of the coaches, you learn a lot across sports.”
“So that’s really why I am here. Manoj (Bedale, one of RR lead owners), is one of the advisors to the federation when I was there. So, I found him really helpful challenging my thinking and we struck up a good friendship,” he added on his reason to be in India during the IPL.
Southgate, who also played football for England, reflected on the love he had for cricket in his growing-up years. “Very often when you play at Wembley, the crowd is a little bit quieter. I’ve always been a fan of cricket. When I was a young kid. I used to watch Test matches all day long.”
“I mean, I am going back to the era of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar and players like that. Then, over the years, got to know a lot of the players when I was playing for England and I knew a lot of the England team.”
Southgate signed off by telling how being with RR has led to him spending time with legendary cricketers Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara, who are the franchise’s head coach and director of cricket respectively.
“Every sport is evolving rapidly. So much that coaches share, medical teams share, and it’s always fascinating to go outside your field and learn from other people. You face so many similar problems and of course they are two world-leading players and incredible figures within the squad, so it’s been a pleasure to spend time with them.”
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