As former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has been re-united with Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor for the upcoming season, the 2-time IPL winner revealed his chat with Shah Rukh Khan which stopped him from dropping out of the team in 2014.

Gambhir was sent back to the pavilion for a duck in the first 2 matches in 2014 and scored one run in the 3rd game. It was at this time that Gambhir thought of dropping himself from the side.

“In 2014, during the IPL in Abu Dhabi, I began with three consecutive ducks. In the fourth game, I managed to score one run. With four losses in our first five matches, as we returned to Ritz Carlton after another defeat, Shah Rukh Khan stood in the lobby. He pulled me aside and inquired about the situation. I mentioned I was contemplating dropping myself,” Gambhir said in an interview.

Gambhir revealed how SRK showed faith in him and backed him to take the team to victory in Abu Dhabi.

“He said, ‘As long as you’re committed and want to be part of the team, don’t consider dropping yourself.’ He urged me to promise that I’d play every game as long as I was there. I managed to score two or three half-centuries consecutively, 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,” Gambhir added.

Kolkata Knight Riders went on to win the 2014 title after registering 9 consecutive wins including the final against Punjab Kings.

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