“He Pulled Me Aside...” - Gautam Gambhir On His Only Cricket Conversation With Shah Rukh Khan

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir revealed his only cricket-related conversation with franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan. He recalled an incident from the Indian Premier League 2014 when he was about to drop himself.

Gautam Gambhir has been one of the main reasons behind Kolkata Knight Riders being a successful franchise in the IPL. The former Indian skipper was one of the best batters to have played for the franchise and apart from that he did a terrific job as a skipper.

Gautam Gambhir led from the front and guided the team to two titles in 2012 and 2014. It’s fair to say that he was emotionally connected to that franchise as he put in hard yards to make the team dominate in the tournament.

Gautam Gambhir talked about his bond with Kolkata Knight Riders and recalled his conversation with Shah Rukh Khan during the 2014 IPL. He stated that after the team lost four games on the trot and he scored three ducks, the Bollywood actor called him. Narrating about the same, he 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. I mentioned I was contemplating dropping myself.”

He urged me to promise that I’d play every game – Gautam Gambhir on Shah Rukh Khan

Gautam Gambhir further elaborated that after he thought of dropping himself, Shah Rukh Khan came to him and told him not to drop him. He narrated how after that KKR won the title. He added:

“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. 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.”

During the season, Gautam Gambhir finished highly with the bat. After registering three ducks he scored 335 runs with three half-centuries. It will be a homecoming for Gautam Gambhir in the IPL 2024. He will be joining the KKR team as a mentor of the team.