Venkatesh Iyer has opened up about Gautam Gambhir’s influence on Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) dressing room during their title-winning Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign, explaining how the former captain’s presence helped establish a culture where players were always ready to attack.Gambhir, who led KKR to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, returned to the franchise in 2024 as a mentor. His involvement proved important as the team went on to win another championship. He has since moved on from the franchise and is currently serving as India’s head coach.Recalling the atmosphere in the KKR dugout, Iyer explained that the team’s batting order was always prepared to take the field, even when the openers were still at the crease.“Our two openers, Narine and Salt, would go out to bat. Angkrish would sit there with his pads on. He just sat there, while the rest of us – me, Shreyas, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep, and Andre Russell – sat inside; all five of us would be padded up and ready to go from the second over itself,” Iyer said during a podcast with Aakash Chopra.Iyer said there was a sense of competition among the batters, with everyone eager to get an opportunity. However, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt often continued batting for several overs, keeping the waiting players on their toes.“There was this competition; anyone could go in at any moment, boss. We stayed ready, like literally. I, of course, saw it from my own perspective, but looking at them, they were like lions ready to go: ‘Just send us in, we’ll go and…’ And touch wood, Salt and Narine wouldn’t get out, they wouldn’t get out for a long time.”He also recalled how Gambhir would communicate the possible batting combinations from the dugout as the innings progressed. Players had to remain prepared because the instructions could change depending on the situation.“If they didn’t get out for three or four overs, GG sir from over there would say: ‘Angkrish, Venky is going next’, and I’d be ready. If they still didn’t get out for two more overs, he’d say from there: ‘It’s a left-right combination, Venky and Shreyas ’- and both of us would be ready. Then, if they stayed in even longer: ‘Call Russell, tell Russell’; but all of us were raring to go like that.”For Iyer, this was a different kind of dressing-room environment, with every batter looking forward to getting an opportunity to take the attack to the opposition.“That was the first time I witnessed something like that: give us an opportunity and we will go smash it.”
‘There was no place for mediocrity’: Iyer on Gambhir
Iyer attributed the team’s approach to the confidence Gambhir gave the players. According to him, the mentor’s presence meant the batters were not worried about failure, but they also knew that the standards expected of them were high.“He was sitting right behind us. There was no fear. And there was no place for mediocrity in that dressing room. You can’t play a mediocre shot or a false stroke and come sit next to him. You can’t do that.”Iyer clarified that Gambhir did not need to introduce any formal rules to establish this atmosphere. His presence and expectations were enough to influence how the players approached their game.The franchise eventually lifted its third IPL trophy, adding to the titles it had won under Gambhir’s captaincy in 2012 and 2014.
