After Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured their third IPL win, Gautam Gambhir’s mentorship to revive the team has been much talked about. A report has revealed that Gambhir and Shah Rukh Khan were regularly in touch with each other even when GG was not a part of KKR.
Gautam Gambhir and Shah Rukh Khan met several times in 2018-2022. Interestingly, they didn’t talk about cricket. Gambhir led Kucknow Super Giants (LSG) to two successful seasons. However, he did not see his future in Sanjiv Goenka’s franchise and thought about leaving the team, according to a report from Dainik Jagaran.
When Shah Rukh came to know about it, he invited GG to his house, Mannat, and they talked for a long time. During this meeting, SRK made Gambhir “an offer he could not refuse”. Khan reportedly asked Gauti to take charge of KKR for the next 10 years and offered him a “blank cheque” during this time, according to the publication.
Gambhir-SRK chemistry
Gautam Gambhir, during an interview with Ravichandran Ashwin, called SRK “the best owner” he had ever worked with because the Bollywood actor did not interfere with his cricketing decisions.
During the first meeting between the two, GG recalled that SRK had told him that the actor did not like someone telling him how to act. Similarly, SRK told the former KKR captain that Gambhir would not like it if someone had told him how to play cricket.
“Absolutely,” Gambhir told SRK.
Since then, Khan has never discussed cricket with Gambhir. He never asked which team KKR would be playing or how the team would strategise. Instead, Gambhir said the two spoke about life in general.
In a video shared by KKR, Shah Rukh is seen giving a brief speech after the team’s victory. The only thing Khan wishes for is to make Gambhir dance at that celebration party. While it’s extremely rare to see him smile, Gambhir has a generous grin throughout as he shakes his head.
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Published: 28 May 2024, 10:06 AM IST