It was a homecoming of sorts for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they roped in their two-time title-winning skipper, Gautam Gambhir back to the side as a team mentor and it has revitalized some of the side’s biggest players namely, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. Reflecting on his time as a captain, Gambhir was very appreciative of the backing from Shah Rukh Khan, which he received during his poor form with the bat back in 2014.
Gambhir was going through one of the toughest periods with the bat as he struggled to get some runs. He only scored 1 run in the first four games of the season which included a hat-trick of ducks as well. “That wasn’t even a bad patch. I couldn’t even score a run. So, what’s worse than a captain who starts the tournament with just one run in four games? “said Gambhir in a podcast uploaded to KKR’s official YouTube channel.
According to the former skipper, what makes SRK as an owner so special is the simple fact that he did not question the decisions of the skipper. He explained,” See, I have said it numerous times. I think he is the best owner I have worked it. The reason why? It’s not because I am now a part of the KKR or was part of KKR. I don’t think in the seven years of me captaining, we’ve had a cricketing conversation for seven minutes, except that patch which I was going through”.
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The left-handed batter mentioned that he was considering excluding himself from the starting 11 considering his poor form but it was SRK who changed his mind. He added,” And also, at that time we had this conversation because I was on the verge of dropping myself. The only thing he told me was that till you are here, and you will be here till you want to be here, you are not going to drop yourself. Because I thought as a leader, I think, first and foremost. I should have the courage to be part of the playing XI and be deserving to be in the starting 11. I told him that it’s time for me to drop myself”.
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Gambhir was not short of praise for SRK as he remains grateful for backing the skipper during a tough period. He said,” Imagine someone, as an owner, who himself has been such a big achiever, such a great achiever, not even talking about cricket or asking you about a single thing, about your decision making. He trusted your decision-making. But he never questioned my decisions, because that is the relationship we have”.
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SRK’s decision to back Gambhir paid off as KKR went on to finish the 2014 season as the champions, their second title under the leadership of Gambhir. KKR will hope that the return of the former skipper can help them bring them more titles as they are in contention to secure a spot in the playoffs.
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