Gautam Gambhir credits Shah Rukh Khan for always having his back, when the cricketer dealt with a bad patch in his sporting career.
Shah Rukh Khan has been grabbing limelight off lately, especially due to his enthusiastic participation in cheering for his cricket team, Kolkata Knight Riders during the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024. The actor, who is the owner of the leading team this season, has not only cheered for KKR on the stands, but has also interacted with the players encouragingly, either boosting their morale for their lost match or priding over their win. And now, a former player of Kolkata Knight Riders heaps praises on SRK, for being the most supportive and endearing team owner ever.
In a recent interaction on KKR’s official YouTube channel, the former captain of the team, Gautam Gambhir, shared precious insights about the most endearing owner of the team, Shah Rukh Khan. While speaking to Cyrus Broacha, in the presence of the cricketer, Manish Pandey, Gautam claimed that SRK is the best owner he has ever worked with. Citing the reasons behind such a statement, he recalled the time in his career when his form dropped significantly and he couldn’t even score a run. Adding how Shah Rukh had a hearty conversation with him about it, Gautam said:
“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.”
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Speaking along the same lines, Gautam Gambhir revealed that it was the first time-ever that he spoke with Shah Rukh Khan over the matter of his performance. Gautam revealed how the actor boosted his morale like none other and continually reminded him that he mustn’t simply let his form drop, and instead take leadership of the playing 11. Adding how SRK didn’t want him to miss out on a single match, Gautam 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.”
In the concluding segment of the interaction, Gautam Gambhir remarked that despite being the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan never questioned his decision making for the team, when he was the captain. The player revealed that the actor trusted him whole-heartedly, even when he didn’t take all the right decisions at all the times. In his words:
“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.”
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Watch the video here.
Previously, in a viral clip featuring Shah Rukh Khan’s motivational speech for his team after they lost a match against Rajasthan Royals, he could be seen boosting the morale of the players despite their loss. The actor asked everyone to cheer up, since they had put in incomparable hard work till the very last minute. Moreover, he also gave a shoutout to KKR’s former captain, Gautam Gambhir, who was also present in the dressing room. SRK asked him not to worry, and assured him that KKR would bounce back.
What do you think about Gautam Gambhir’s revelations?
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