‘Someone I can take bullet for’: Gautam Gambhir names Dutch cricketer as greatest team man he has ever played with

Over the course of his illustrious career that has seen him be part of the heady 2011 Cricket World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir has shared the dressing room with many legends and stalwarts of the game.

Just look at the Cricket World Cup winning side of 2011, which had the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin to name a few.

But Gambhir had a surprising name as his choice for the ‘greatest team man’ he has ever played with: Dutch cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate.

“When I talk about selflessness, the greatest team man I have ever played with, the most selfless human being, someone I can take a bullet for, someone I can trust for life… In 2011, my first game as a KKR captain, we only had four overseas players available. This man had a fabulous 50-over World Cup,” Gambhir said at the Kolkata Knight Riders jersey launch event.

He added: “We went into that game with only three overseas players. He was carrying drinks in that game with no disappointment on his face. He taught me selflessness – Ryan ten Doeschate. These are people who taught me to be a leader.”

Gambhir was appointed as the mentor for the KKR franchise ahead of the IPL 2024 season after a stint with Lucknow Super Giants over previous seasons. Ten Doschate, meanwhile, is now KKR’s fielding coach.

One line from SRK convinced Gambhir to return to KKR

Gambhir credited the KKR franchise with making him a successful leader. Gambhir led Kolkata to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.

“I did not make KKR successful. It was KKR that made me a successful leader. KKR for me was never about purple and gold and that two stars which you see on the jersey. It was far more beyond that. First, KKR meant passion, KKR meant honesty, it meant sacrifice and selflessness,” Gambhir said.

Constant inspiration, our Guru Gautam Gambhir! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/H19SzDPh7v

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 19, 2024

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Gambhir also revealed what had convinced him to return to KKR.

KKR owner Sharukh Khan and Gautam Gambhir during the felicitation ceremony held at Eden Garden in 2012. (Express Archive)

“I am a very tough guy to manage,” he mentioned at the KKR event. He then thanked owner Shah Rukh Khan and KKR managing director Venky Mysore for “putting up” with his tantrums, before revealing what Shah Rukh Khan had said to him to convince him to return.

“This is your franchise. Make it or break it,” Gambhir recalled Shah Rukh as saying both in 2011 when Gambhir was made captain and now, when he has come back as mentor.

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