PICS : IPL-7 is crucial for them

This year's tournament is significant all the more, because the countdown to the 2015 World Cup starts from here. There are players who know that a successful IPL will make a world of difference to them if they are to stay in the reckoning and clinch that coveted berth in eight months' time. On top of that list is Gautam Gambhir, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders. The left-hander has fallen off the selectors' radar in the last one year, but he must have noticed even in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, that India don't have a settled opening pair. Shikhar Dhawan has been a little erratic of late and Gambhir might just see a window of opportunity.