IPL2024: Gautam Gambhir Says, “Make It Or Break It,” Recalling an Honest Conversation He Had With Shah Rukh Khan in His First Few Days With KKR

In an open discussion, Gautam Gambhir, the recently appointed coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), acknowledged that he can be a “tough guy” to deal with at the Knights Unplugged event on Monday. Remarkably, the complete team of KKR saw the unveiling of their new Indian Premier League shirt.

The former India opener addressed the gathering by saying, “First of all, I want to say one thing — I’m a very tough guy to handle.”

Gambhir continued the speech during the function, stating that during his playing days in 2011–12, the team’s CEO Venky Mysore and owner Shah Rukh Khan had endured many outbursts. Additionally, Gambhir said that SRK granted him complete power in a clear declaration.

“I have to thank SRK (team principal owner Shah Rukh Khan) and Venky bhai (CEO Venky Mysore), who is here as well,” Gambhir said in an expression of appreciation. They have put up with a lot of my outbursts and stubbornness for a very long time.”

“Kyun ke sach yeh hai ki hum sachchai se ladna jaante hai, hum haar na jaante hai, aur hum jitna bhi jaante hain (Because the truth is that we know how to fight with honesty, we know how to lose, and we know how to win),” he said.

In a retrospective, Gambhir said of his early days with KKR, “He (SRK) only told me the same thing that he had told me when I joined KKR as a player in 2011: ‘This is your franchise, make it or break it.'”

“He made the exact same statement to me. We’ll be in a lot better situation when I leave this location, even if I have no idea what will happen next.”

Gambhir, a guy who is renowned for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, feels that KKR, not him, is the reason for his success.

“So, I have to thank the owner and the CEO for trusting me,” Gambhir said, acknowledging the confidence that had been given in him. “Hopefully, we can achieve great success because that’s the honesty SRK taught me — honesty, dignity.”

“Fans are free to be upset with us and to treat us badly. We are going to battle for your happiness and make you happy.

“Please continue to help us. You are very entitled to be upset with us. In the end, we’ll make sure Kolkata is happy,” Gambhir said.

The following players are part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) IPL 2024 squad: KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain.