Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir remains a man of extreme interest, and understandably so, because of the role he played in Kolkata Knight Riders’ triumph at Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Gambhir only joined KKR ahead of this year’s campaign, leaving Lucknow Super Giants, a franchise he had spent two years with. It has now been reported that Gambhir’s switch from Lucknow to Kolkata wasn’t a short-term call. In fact, a report has claimed that Gambhir and Shah Rukh Khan, KKR’s co-owner, would often meet at the latter’s house between 2018 and 2022.
According to a report in Dainik Jagaran, Gambhir made up his mind of leaving the Lucknow franchise in 2023 after being given the ‘blank cheque’ offer by Shah Rukh, who asked the former India opener to be at the Knight Riders for the next 10 years.
As Gambhir contemplated the idea of leaving LSG last year, despite having spent a couple of decent campaigns with the franchise, Shah Rukh was ready to not let the opportunity slip up. The Bollywood icon reportedly invited Gambhir to his house ‘Mannat’ and had chat for 2 hours.
Gambhir, who had led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 as captain, was ready for the new challenge and decided to take up the KKR job. But, all of this came as a big surprise to LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka, who was baffled by the developments.
What next for Gautam Gambhir?
After just one year at KKR, Gambhir stands at crossroads, with the India head coach job also reportedly waiting for his nod. Gambhir is said to be on top of the BCCI’s wishlist as Rahul Dravid‘s replacement. But, having agreed to Shah Rukh Khan’s ’10-year offer’, Gambhir too has a difficult decision to make.
The BCCI also doesn’t have many prominent options to choose from if Gambhir says no. It has been reported that no famous Australian name has applied for the India head coach job while VVS Laxman isn’t interested too.
It’s all about if the BCCI would succeed in convincing Gambhir or not.
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