Gautam Gambhir reveals Sunil Narine's surprising 'girlfriend' request when they first met in 2012

Former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir has opened up on his relationship with his former IPL teammate Sunil Narine.

Narine had made his IPL debut under Gambhir's captaincy way back in 2012 and the duo had played a key role in powering KKR to their maiden IPL title that year. In 2014, they joined hands again to take KKR to the title. The Kolkata-based outfit could not win a title until Gambhir joined the franchise again this year as a mentor.

Gambhir's decision to back Narine as an opener turned out to be a masterstroke as the latter starred with the bat as well as the ball to help KKR clinch their third title and first since 2014. After the end of the final, a video of Narine and Gambhir celebrating the win had gone viral on social media.

While both the players do not like to show emotions on the field, they decided to leave the fans surprised with their emotional celebration. Narine lifted Gambhir before the latter lifted the former as well, as the two shared a special moment to celebrate the win.

Gautam Gambhir on his bonding with Sunil Narine:

With the tournament now done and dusted, Gautam Gambhir has opened up on his strong bond with Sunil Narine. Speaking to Sportskeeda, the former India opener recalled Narine's first season in the IPL and revealed that the star spinner was very shy.

"Me and Narine are similar characters, and so are our emotions. I still remember that when Narine first came into the IPL in 2012, it was in Jaipur, and we were going for practice, and I told him to come join for lunch. He was so shy that he did not say a single word during lunch, and the first question that he eventually asked was, 'Can I bring my girlfriend to the IPL?," Gambhir said.

"He was so quiet that first season, but now, we can talk about anything. He is like a brother to me. I don't see him as a friend, I don't see him as a teammate, I see him as a brother. If I need him or he needs me, I think we are just one call away, that is the sort of relationship that we have built. We do not get excited much, we do not show too many emotions, we are not flamboyant, we just do the job and come back," Gambhir added.

Narine played a key role in KKR's triumphant campaign in the IPL 2024. He made a big impact with both bat and ball and was named the Most Valuable Player. The former West Indies star smashed close to 500 runs including a century in addition to picking up 17 wickets.