Kolkata Knight Riders team mentor Gautam Gambhir admitted that Shah Rukh Khan is the best owner he has ever worked with.
After leading KKR for seven years, Gambhir returned to the two-time winners not as a player but in a managerial role.
Before the ongoing season, the former KKR captain returned to the franchise after being announced as the team mentor, in November last year.
KKR returned to their groove and have soared high this season. Apart from a familiar face in the form of Gambhir, the franchise has also enjoyed the presence of co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.
Gambhir opened up about his relationship with the megastar and shocked everyone by saying that the two never talk about cricket.
“It is the trust of the owner as well I have said it many times in the past I think SRK is the best owner I have ever worked with. The reason is not because now I am back with the KKR. The reason is that in the seven years of me captaining, we had not spoken 70 seconds about cricket. He had never asked me a single question on cricket in those seven years. Can you imagine?” Gambhir said on Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
Last year, the Riders struggled to pull off a string of victories and ended in the seventh spot with 12 points.
Since Gambhir’s return, KKR have rekindled their fighting spirit and finished at the top of the table for the first time in the history of the competition.
With IPL entering its final week, Gambhir stated that he still hasn’t had a word with Shah Rukh about cricket.
He recalled a moment in 2011 which marked the only time the two shared a conversation about cricket.
“Since I have come, 20 days we haven’t spoken about cricket. We don’t talk about cricket. The first thing he told me in 2011 when I met him for the first time he said I don’t like anybody telling me how acting needs to be done. I am sure you will not like someone telling you how cricket needs to be played. I said absolutely and that was the only conversation I had with him. In the last 20 days he has not asked me what team are we playing or what is the strategy,” Gambhir said.
“He has never asked me a single question on cricket. That’s the trust. It comes with honesty, with accountability because he knows if something goes wrong I will be the first person in the room to put my hand up and say yes we messed it up and I am accountable for it,” Gambhir added.
The Riders will be back in action in the race to the final on Tuesday. They will face second-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad in the Qualifier 1.