‘GG had an aura and never accepted mediocrity’ - Venkatesh Iyer reveals Gautam Gambhir’s high standards that helped KKR win IPL 2024
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‘GG had an aura and never accepted mediocrity’ - Venkatesh Iyer reveals Gautam Gambhir’s high standards that helped KKR win IPL 2024 originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Venkatesh Iyer says Gautam Gambhir demanded excellence from every KKR player in 2024.
- Gambhir returned as KKR mentor in 2024 and helped them win another IPL title.
- KKR batters stayed padded up from the second over, ready to bat anytime.
Venkatesh Iyer reveals how Gautam Gambhir transformed KKR in IPL 2024
Gautam Gambhir carried an aura that left no room for mediocrity in the Kolkata Knight Riders dressing room, according to Venkatesh Iyer. The all-rounder has now described how the former captain’s standards shaped the mindset of a squad that went on to win IPL 2024.
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Gambhir has long been the face of the franchise, and his bond with the city and the team runs deep. He captained KKR to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, which made him a hero among the supporters.
He came back in 2024 as a mentor and played a key part in guiding the side to another championship. KKR lifted the trophy with their former captain working prominently within the coaching staff, although he later left the franchise to take up his present job as India’s head coach.
How KKR batters stayed ready under Gambhir in IPL 2024
Iyer began by painting a picture of the dugout during a typical innings. He explained that the openers, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, would go out to bat, while the rest of the batting order waited with their pads already strapped on.
“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.”
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The batters were competing with each other for a chance to walk out, and Iyer said the energy in the room was unlike anything he had seen. He added that everyone looked like they were eager to be sent in, while Salt and Narine kept batting for long periods without losing their wickets.
“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.”
Gambhir kept a close eye on the game and kept calling out names as the overs went by. Iyer recalled how the instructions came in stages, depending on how long the openers stayed at the crease, and each player had to be ready the moment his name was called.
“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.”
According to Iyer, it was the first time he had seen a group so keen to attack whenever they got a chance. He said the whole unit thought alike, and every player wanted an opportunity to go out and hit freely.
“That was the first time I witnessed something like that: give us an opportunity and we will go smash it."
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Why there was no place for mediocrity in the KKR dressing room
The reason for that fearlessness, Iyer explained, was the presence of the mentor himself. Gambhir kept their back, and that created a culture where only high-quality cricket was acceptable.
“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 made it clear that nothing of this sort was ever put down as an official rule. He felt that the force of Gambhir’s personality was enough to set the standard on its own.
“Not that, and it wasn’t a written rule... you could sit there if you wanted, but in my view, perhaps his aura was such that: ‘Boss, only excellence will work in this team, mediocrity will not be tolerated.’”
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Gambhir’s standards explain KKR’s 2024 success
Talent alone rarely wins a tournament, and Iyer’s account shows why KKR were so hard to stop in 2024. The squad had power and skill, but it also had a mentor who made sure that nobody relaxed. A dugout in which five or six batters sit ready from the second over creates a sense of urgency that no team meeting can produce on its own.
It is also worth noticing that Gambhir did not rely on rules or lectures. By Iyer’s own description, his mere presence was enough to make players think twice before playing a careless shot. That kind of influence comes from a long career of achievement, and Gambhir’s two titles as captain and his record for the franchise gave him exactly that respect.
Some may argue that such a demanding approach can create pressure, and there is some truth in that. Players who fear failure often freeze, and not every dressing room would respond well to this style. However, Iyer describes the opposite effect, since he talks about a lack of fear and a desire to attack. That suggests the standards were set in a way that encouraged boldness rather than anxiety.
Players tend to rise to the level that is expected of them, and a strong mentor can lift an entire group without saying a great deal. KKR’s trophy in 2024 is a good example of that idea at work.
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