"Ashish Nehra ordered a duck" - Gautam Gambhir shares hilarious story from IPL 2014

Gautam Gambhir recently recalled how he had a miserable start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2014. The then Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper bagged three back-to-back ducks at the beginning of the tournament.

Gambhir revealed that while having dinner at the team hotel with a few friends ahead of KKR's fourth match, Ashish Nehra asked the former to order a duck if didn't want to get out zero.

Speaking on ANI's podcast, Gambhir remarked:

"Four or five guys from Delhi were sitting together at the dinner table. Ashish Nehra ordered a duck. He told me to have the duck for dinner; otherwise, I might get another duck in the next match. I just tasted it. I scored one run in that match, and Nehra even messaged me after that."

Gambhir also shared details of the conversation he had with KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan after getting out for a duck on three occasions. He stated that he wanted to drop himself from the playing XI, but Shah Rukh didn't approve of his decision.

"2014 in Abu Dhabi, I started the IPL with three ducks in a row," he continued. "I got a one in the fourth game. We had lost four out of our first five matches. We were coming back to Ritz Carlton after we lost the game. He was standing in the lobby. He took me on the side and asked what was happening. I said I was thinking of dropping myself.

"He told me, 'till you are there and you want to be there, you are not dropping yourself,'" Gautam Gambhir added. "He asked me to promise him that I would play every game until I was there. I got two or three half-centuries in a row and we won in 2014. That was my only cricket conversation with him in seven years of my captaincy."

The Kolkata-based franchise staged a miraculous turnaround following a miserable start and ultimately finished as the title winners in IPL 2024.

---

"It was a very, very emotional decision" - Gautam Gambhir opens up on re-joining KKR ahead of IPL 2024

Gautam Gambhir was roped in as a mentor by KKR ahead of the upcoming IPL in 2024. The former cricketer stated that he accepted the offer because of his emotional connection with the franchise.

Speaking about joining KKR, he said:

"It was a very, very emotional decision. It was a tough decision because I had some really good memories with Lucknow. But going back to KKR was something which was very emotional. From 2011 to 2017, there were a lot of emotions that were involved in creating a franchise and a legacy. The way they showed love when I was there for seven years was fantastic."

Gambhir mentioned that it was Shah Rukh Khan who approached him for the mentorship role. Lavishing praise on the KKR owner, he added:

"Yes, he did (reach out to me). Whenever we talk, we talk in the Delhi way only. We don't talk in a Mumbai way or any other way. It is two Delhiites talking. He has been fabulous. He has been one of the best owners I have ever worked with. In the seven years that I captained KKR, he had not spoken to me about cricket for even seven minutes. The first time we met, he told me, 'This is your team; make it or break it'."

Gautam Gambhir enjoyed great success during his seven-year captaincy stint with KKR. Under his leadership, the team won the IPL in 2012 and 2014.