Three seasons and three Playoff appearances, twice with LSG and now with KKR he has gone one step further. There is definitely something that Gautam Gambhir does right. No Phil Salt at the top of the batting order did not matter. Mitch Starc was not firing in the group stage, it did not matter. He came out all guns blazing on Tuesday night against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad in IPL 2024.
KKR will fire is what GG will say and keeps reminding us that cricket is a team sport even as many are always obsessed with individuals. You will never agree with everything Gautam says. He will tell you there is no need to. He is there to win and not to agree.
Straight talk, whether you like it or not. Having had many conversations with the man, the mentor, and long detailed ones, I must say, over the last two years, I have a sense of how Gautam thinks.
Winning is his only mantra and in all honesty, he hates to lose. Before my readers say that everyone hates to lose, let me say Gautam hates it by that one extra percent. The decisive one percent that makes a difference. It doesn’t matter to him who is at the other end. If anything happens to one of his own, he will go and pick a fight for his player. Even if it is against the legendary Virat Kohli.
Gautam had once said to me that after a defeat he hates players going and clicking selfies with opponents. More so, if the game had turned on the heat for some reason. It is a time for introspection, not clicking selfies, he feels. If there is an issue, he has the courage to take it on his chin and own a decision.
Watch KKR CEO and MD, Venky Mysore speak on Gautam Gambhir’s impact this time in IPL and more.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE
From Sunil Narine’s resurgence to Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, @KKRiders CEO Venky Mysore reflects on the key factors behind their impeccable season so far.@VenkyMysore #IPL2024 @ShreyasIyer15 #SunilNarine #SRHvsKKR pic.twitter.com/CNBvsM64nI
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 21, 2024
To give one example from 2014, when he was skipper of KKR. “The only time I felt pressure was in 2014 when I got three consecutive ducks for KKR in Dubai as captain. That’s when I felt pressure. I then got one in the fourth innings and was ashamed of my efforts. That was pressure. You feel the pressure when things don’t go well for you. Not when things are right, and you are on a roll. In the fourth match, I asked Manish Pandey to open the innings and batted at No. 3 myself. Manish was scoring, and I did this because I was scared. I have no hesitation in accepting I was insecure and scared. However, Manish was out without scoring and I got out for 1. I told Manish I would never again do this, and decided to take things head on. I was feeling the pressure. I was nervous. But then that’s what mental strength and courage is all about. You need to face up to the toughest challenges. In our next game, I opened the batting and smashed the first ball from Kane Richardson for four. Perhaps the most important four of my IPL career. That’s when things changed again,” Gautam Gambhir had told me.
Did Gautam the KKR mentor give this example to Mitch Starc last night and say a silent word? Did he tell skipper Shreyas Iyer it was his platform to own and become the hero? Did he say to Venkatesh Iyer that come the business end, only the strong stand up?
Ask Gautam, and yes, he will have a wry smile on his face. And he will say I don’t want to speak before the tournament is over. Let’s do an interview after the final and you can ask me anything you want. Very Gautam. Passionate, intense and committed.
Does Gautam know that his straight talk doesn’t always endear him to people? That it could sound insensitive at times? Or does it really matter to him? When he says we haven’t given enough credit to Yuvi, Zaheer and Raina for the 2011 World Cup win, does he not know that MSD fans will jump on him?
But that’s why he is Gautam Gambhir. He doesn’t really care who says what as long as the result is achieved. He wants to win and on his own terms. Based on his own self-belief. Take it or leave it, he will be his own man. And for KKR it has worked wonders. Could well be that it works well for India as well if he takes up the India job at the end of the ICC T20 World Cup.
