Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has revealed his only cricket-related conversation with franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan. He recalled an incident that occurred in Indian Premier League 2014 when he was about to fall.

Gautam Gambhir has been one of the main reasons why Kolkata Knight Riders is a successful franchise in the IPL. The former Indian captain was one of the best batsmen to play for the franchise and apart from that, he did an excellent job as captain.

Gautam Gambhir led from the front and guided the team to two titles in 2012 and 2014. It is fair to say that he was emotionally connected to that franchise as he worked hard for the team to dominate the tournament.

Gautam Gambhir spoke about his bond with Kolkata Knight Riders and recalled his conversation with Shah Rukh Khan during the IPL 2014. He said that after the team lost four games in a row and scored three ducks, the Bollywood actor called him up. Narrating the same, he said on ANI’s Smita Prakash podcast:

“In 2014, during the IPL in Abu Dhabi, I started with three consecutive ducks. In the fourth game I managed to score a run. With four defeats in our first five matches, when we returned to the Ritz Carlton after another defeat, Shah Rukh Khan was in the lobby. He took me aside and asked me about the situation. I mentioned that he was thinking about dropping me.”

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

Gautam Gambhir further explained that after thinking about dropping, Shah Rukh Khan approached him and told him not to drop. 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 quitting.’ He urged me to promise that he would play every game while I was there. I managed to score two or three consecutive half-centuries 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 very well with the bat. After registering three ducks, he scored 335 runs in three half-centuries. It will be a homecoming for Gautam Gambhir in IPL 2024. He will join the KKR team as a team mentor.