Gautam Gambhir hailed KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan in a huge statement, and also revealed an anecdote.
The most successful captain in Kolkata Knight Riders’ history, Gautam Gambhir was appointed as team mentor prior to IPL 2024. In a huge boost to KKR’s campaign, the decision worked out and the 2011 ODI World Cup winner has been able to get the best out of the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, two players who joined KKR during his tenure as captain.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan embraces the team mentor Gautam Gambhir.(ANI)
The pair had been under-performing for the last few seasons. But Gambhir’s arrival has brought them back on track. Narine has been opening the batting for KKR this season and is also their highest run-scorer and sixth in the Orange Cap race. In six matches, the veteran has smacked 276 runs, with a high score of 109. He has registered a fifty and a century.
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Meanwhile, Russell’s cameos in the middle order have been key. The all-rounder has slammed 128 runs in six matches this season, at a strike rate of 200.00.
During a recent conversation with Cyrus Broacha, Gambhir was asked about KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan. Gambhir was full of praises when talking about the Bollywood superstar and the duo are known to have a good relationship.
Gambhir revealed that once when he was going through a bad patch, he thought of dropping himself from the KKR playing XI. But Shah Rukh came to his defence and backed the batter to remain in the playing XI.
“It wasn’t a patch, I couldn’t even score a run! He is the best owner I have worked with. And the reason is not because I am now, or was earlier, part of KKR. I don’t think that in seven years of my captaincy, we’ve had a cricketing conversation for seven minutes, except for that patch which I was going through. At that time also, we had this conversation because I was actually on the verge of dropping myself,” he said.
“The only thing he told me was that, till you are here–and you will be here till you want to be here–you won’t be dropping yourself. I thought as a leader, first and foremost I should have the courage to be a part of the playing 11, I should deserve to be a part of the playing 11. I told him that, and that’s the only conversation I have had in seven years with him when it came to cricket. He told me you will not drop yourself, whatever happens, you will play all the games. And then things turned around.
“So, imagine someone as an owner, who himself has been such a big, great achiever not even talking about cricket, asking you about a single thing about your decision making… He trusted your decision making. I am not saying I have made all the right decisions in those seven years, but he never questioned because that’s the relationship, the trust he had in me,” he further added.
Shah Rukh co-owns KKR with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta. KKR have been a part of IPL since the league’s inception and have won two titles (2012, 2014). In IPL 2024, Shah Rukh has been a constant during KKR’s matches and is usually accompanied by his daughter Suhana.
