Gautam Gambhir guided KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain and current mentor, Gautam Gambhir, opened up about his only cricket-related talk with franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.
He recalled an incident from the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was considering dropping himself from the XI. Gambhir played a crucial role in making KKR one of the most successful teams in the IPL.
Apart from being one of the best batters for the KKR, the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup winner also excelled as a captain. Leading from the front, Gambhir guided KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. His emotional connection to the franchise isn’t hidden from anyone.
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Meanwhile, Gambhir opened up about his bond with KKR and shared an incident from IPL 2014 when the team lost four consecutive games and he scored three ducks, and then Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan called him.
Gautam Gambhir said on ANI’s Smita Prakash podcast: “In 2014, during the IPL in Abu Dhabi, I began with three consecutive ducks. In the fourth game, I managed to score one run. With four losses in our first five matches, as we returned to Ritz Carlton after another defeat, Shah Rukh Khan stood in the lobby. He pulled me aside and inquired about the situation.”
H continued, “I mentioned I was contemplating dropping myself. He said, ‘As long as you’re committed and want to be part of the team, don’t consider dropping yourself.’ He urged me to promise that I’d play every game as long as I was there.”
Gambhir signed off by saying, “I managed to score two or three half-centuries consecutively, and we emerged victorious in 2014. Surprisingly, that turned out to be my only cricket-related conversation with him in my seven years of captaincy.”
(With ANI Inputs)