Former India cricketer and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir revealed a hilarious story from his 2014 IPL campaign. It was a time when Gambhir had got out for three back-to-back ducks in the starting of the tournament and while having dinner at the team hotel, Ashish Nehra ordered a duck for him to eat asking the batter to eat it if he did not want to get out for a duck in the next game.
“Four or five guys from Delhi were sitting together at the dinner table. Ashish Nehra ordered a duck. He told me to have the duck for dinner; otherwise, I might get another duck in the next match. I just tasted it. I scored one run in that match, and Nehra even messaged me after that,” told Gamvbhir on ANI’s podcast.
On three separate instances, Gambhir got out for a duck and revealed specifics of the chat he had with Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of KKR. He expressed his desire to be removed from the starting lineup, but Shah Rukh disapproved of his choice. (WPL 2024 Auction Highlights: Sutherland & Uncapped Indians Steal Show; Check Full Squads Of All 5 Teams)
WATCH – Former KKR Captain and now mentor Gautam Gambhir narrates about his only CRICKET conversation with Shahrukh Khan. pic.twitter.com/zuaMXbtkto
Knight Vibe (@KKRiderx) December 9, 2023
“2014 in Abu Dhabi, I started the IPL with three ducks in a row,” he continued. “I got a one in the fourth game. We had lost four out of our first five matches. We were coming back to Ritz Carlton after we lost the game. He was standing in the lobby. He took me on the side and asked what was happening. I said I was thinking of dropping myself.”
“He told me, ’till you are there and you want to be there, you are not dropping yourself,” Gautam Gambhir added.
“He asked me to promise him that I would play every game until I was there. I got two or three half-centuries in a row and we won in 2014. That was my only cricket conversation with him in seven years of my captaincy.”
Gautam Gambhir has praised ‘Men in Blue’ skipper Rohit Sharma and said that he has done a great job during the ODI World Cup 2023. In an interview during ‘ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash’, Gambhir said India dominated the World Cup and had just one bad game.
“In captaincy, Rohit has done a very, very good job. It is not easy to win five IPL trophies. The way India have dominated in the last 50-over World Cup and I said that before the World Cup final as well…I said that irrespective of the result, whatever the result is after the World Cup, India played like a champion side. One bad game doesn’t make Rohit Sharma or this side a bad team. Ten games and the way they have dominated the whole tournament. Just because of one bad game if you call Rohit Sharma a bad captain, this is not fair,” Gambhir said.
After 10 straight wins in the marquee tournament, India lost the final to Australia. The 42-year-old former player opined that Rohit should lead the Indian team in the 2024 T20 World Cup if he is in good form. (‘Money Spent On Vrinda Dinesh And Kashvee Gautam Is Monumental,’ Says Saba Karim On WPL Auction)
“If Rohit Sharma is in good form, he should be leading in the T20 World Cup or if he is not in good form, whoever is not in good form should not be picked for the T20 World Cup. Captaincy is a responsibility. First, you get yourself selected as a player and then you’re made captain. A captain should have a permanent position in the playing eleven, and the permanent place depends on the form,” he said.
The 2011 ODI World Cup winner, who is BJP MP from East Delhi, said that age should not be a criterion when dropping a player from the squad and form should be the only criteria.
“Age should not be the criteria why a player should be dropped or picked, only form should be the criteria. Retirement is also an individual decision, no one can force him (a player) to retire, selectors have all the right not to pick them but ultimately one cannot take a bat or ball away from a player. Form is the topmost priority,” he added.
Rohit had a stellar ODI World Cup 2023 and played a crucial role for the ‘Men in Blue’ as an opener. The 36-year-old was the second-most run-getter in the tournament. He set the pace for India’s innings in matches and scored 597 runs at a strike rate of 125.94 in 11 innings. (With ANI inputs)
Source: Zee News