"Best owner I've worked with" - Gautam Gambhir recalls how SRK supported him during his rough patch at KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir recently recalled how supportive co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was when he was out of form with the bat at the franchise. Gambhir remembered how the Bollywood superstar urged him not to drop himself despite a string of low scores.
The 42-year-old joined the Knight Riders in 2011 after spending three years with Delhi Daredevils and led them to IPL titles in 2012, and 2014. Although Gambhir enjoyed a successful run with the bat in 2012, he wasn't quite up to the mark with the bat in 2014.
Speaking on the KKR Knights Dugout Podcast, the southpaw said SRK was the best IPL owner he had worked with, given the enormous backing he always received.
"I couldn't score one run in four games. I've said it numerous times I think he is the best owner I've worked with. It's not because I'm now part of KKR or I was part of KKR. I don't think so in seven years of me captaining KKR we have had a cricketing conversation even for seven minutes, except for that patch that I was going through. That time also we had the conversation because I was on the verge of dropping myself. The only thing he told me was till you're here, you are not going to drop yourself."
The Delhi-born cricketer is also KKR's highest run-getter with 3345 runs in 122 matches, averaging 31.26 with a best score of 93. Following their loss against the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, SRK also uplifted the team's spirits by giving a rousing dressing room speech.
"He never questioned my decisions" - Gautam Gambhir on Shah Rukh Khan
Gambhir went on to claim that Shah Rukh never questioned his decisions, regardless of the results and the money invested, adding:
"Imagine someone, as an owner who himself has been such a big achiever, not even talking about cricket or asking you a single thing about your decision making. I'm not saying I made all the right decisions. But he never questioned my decisions, that's the trust he had in me."
As far as the current season is concerned, the Knight Riders are in the second spot with four wins and two defeats.