As Gautam Gambhir returns to Kolkata Knight Riders, expectations arise at the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. It was under Gambhir's captaincy that KKR won their only two IPL titles. As the former India opener returns on the capacity of a mentor, the management expects the setup to do wonders. Gambhir is the kind of person who always puts the team ahead of personal milestones. In a chat after reaching Kolkata, the 2011 World Cup-winning cricketer named former KKR star Ryan Ten Doeschate as the ‘greatest team man' he has ever come across.
Gambhir has rubbed shoulders with some of the finest ‘team men' in the game. Be it MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. But, it was the former Netherlands batter.
“When I talk about selflessness, I have never said this in 42 years of my career, and I wanted to say this. The greatest team man I have ever played with, the most selfless human being, someone I can take a bullet for, someone who I can trust for life, and I can tell you this because in 2011 my first game as a KKR captain.
“We only had four overseas players available, and this man had a fabulous 50-over World Cup, and we went in that game with only three overseas players, and he was carrying drinks in that game with no disappointment on his face. He taught me selflessness. Ryan ten Doeschate. These are the people who made me the leader,” Gambhir revealed.
During the event, Gambhir also said: "I did not make Kolkata Knight Riders successful, it was KKR that made me a successful leader."