KKR CEO reveals how Gautam Gambhir finally made it to the team in 2011, says 'was praying'

The Chief Executive Officer of Kolkata Knight Riders Venky Mysore has revealed the difficulties that the Kolkata franchise had to face in order to rope in Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir was brought by KKR in the 2011 IPL Auctions and led them for seven seasons. He had captained them to two IPL triumphs in the 2012 and, 2014 editions and had also led them to the playoffs on most of the occasions. It was only on two occasions (2013, and, 2015 seasons) that the Knight Riders could not make it to the last four under his captaincy.

'My heart was beating': Venky Mysore

“I was sitting there, and I was hoping, and I was saying my prayers and my heart was beating. I was seeing the most familiar faces of other teams and their ownerships and they were all occupying their respective tables. Then I was saying to myself, this is like a warm-up like a batsman takes a few knock-downs when they come to bat. So, I was thinking to let a few names come to the auctions that we are not interested in and see what happens. Lo and behold, the first name in 2011 auctions Gautam Gambhir – the very first name that came in. It was unbelievable. We were quite determined. We had budgets and circuit break-up pricing in our strategies", said Mysore while speaking on the RK show.

“My instinct said that it was the right thing to do. Even though it exceeded our circuit break-up because the Kochi team was equally motivated. There was a dog-fight for that. The rest is history,” the KKR CEO added.

KKR in IPL 2020

The Knights will be hoping to win their third IPL crown in the 13th edition of the cash-rich tournament that will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. The KKR players have already reached the Gulf for participating in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. The Dinesh Karthik-led side are staying at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal.

The IPL 2020

Four-time winners Mumbai Indians will be defending their title this time around. Coming back to IPL 2020, it will also be the first time that an IPL final will be played on a weekday. The tournament decider will be played on the day of Diwali. This will be the third time that the IPL will be held outside India (after 2009, and 2014 editions) and at the same time, it will also be the second occasion after 2009 where all the IPL matches will be played abroad.

The 2009 edition was entirely held in South Africa due to the General Elections. The tournament was won by the now-defunct Deccan Chargers who had edged past the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a low-scoring thriller. The first half of the 2014 edition was held in the UAE due to the General Elections while the second half of that tournament was played in India.

READ: MI, CSK & KKR Will Be Departing For UAE For IPL 2020 On August 21: Reports

(Image Courtesy: PTI)