Gautam Gambhir Reveals The Chat With Shah Rukh Khan After Joining KKR In 2011

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has revealed the conversation with the franchise’s owner — Shah Rukh Khan after joining it in 2011. One of the most decorated franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL), KKR didn’t boast of an impressive record in its initial years. It was Gautam Gambhir’s proactive and aggressive captaincy that turned its fortunes around.

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The Kolkata-based franchise began the tournament’s journey in 2008 in blistering fashion. Brendon McCullum smashed 158 in the league opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as the team led by Sourav Ganguly won by 140 runs. Despite the presence of the charismatic Ganguly and the charming and renowned Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as not only their owner but their motivator, the outfit couldn’t rise above mediocrity for the first three years.

Thus when their management triggered changes, including roping Gautam Gambhir, as captain, the 38-year-old promised to guide them in a better position. Gambhir revealed that all Shah Rukh Khan told him is it is your team and deal with it how you want to and that there would be no intervention. For the first time in 2011, Kolkata reached the playoffs and lifted the trophy in 2012 and 2014. Gautam Gambhir exited the franchise in 2018.

“This is your team, make it or break it, I will not interfere… I just promised him one thing, I don’t know where it’s gonna happen but by the time I leave, whether it’s gonna be three years or six years, this franchise will be in a much better position.” Gambhir stated in Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

So when you’re standing with Gautam Gambhir, you’ll never stand alone: Joy Bhattacharya

Earlier, former KKR team director Joy Bhattacharya didn’t term Gautam Gambhir as “captain cool” unlike MS Dhoni. Instead, Joy rated the left-handed batsman as someone who explicitly shows his passion and would take a bullet for his players.

“You don’t say that he’s (Gambhir) captain cool, he’s the guy who will take a bullet for his players, he’s got all passion. So when you’re standing with Gautam, you’ll never stand alone. So that’s what we did with KKR,” the Delhi batsman Gautam Gambhir added.

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