‘There was no room for mediocrity’: Venkatesh Iyer reveals Gautam Gambhir’s dressing room rules at KKR

Venkatesh Iyer opened up about Gautam Gambhir’s impact on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) dressing room during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 winning campaign and explained how the former captain’s presence helped create a culture where the 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 won another championship. He has since retired from the franchise and currently serves as India’s head coach.Recalling the atmosphere in the KKR dugout, Iyer explained that the team’s batting order was always ready to field even when the openers were still in the crease.“Our two openers, Narine and Salt, would go in to bat. Angkrish would sit there with pads on him. He would just sit there while the rest of us – myself, Shreyas, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep and Andre Russell – would sit inside; all five of us would be stuffed and ready to go under,” Aypracast said from the other over.Iyer said there is a sense of competition among the batsmen and everyone is eager to get an opportunity. However, Sunil Narine and Phil Salt often continued to bat for several overs, keeping the waiting bowlers on their toes.“There was such a competition; anybody could come in at any time, boss. We stayed ready, literally. I saw it from my own perspective, of course, but watching 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, wouldn’t get out for a long time.”He also recalled Gambhir communicating possible batting combinations from the trenches as the innings progressed. Players had to stay ready as the instructions could change depending on the situation.“If they didn’t get out for three or four overs, GG, the gentleman from over there would say, ‘Angkrishi, Venky goes on’, and I’d be ready. If they still didn’t get out for the next two overs, he’d say from over there, ‘It’s a left-to-right combination, Venky and Shreyas’ – and then we’d both stay ready, the Russians, they’ll say it even longer.” Russell’, but we were all reluctant to go that way.”It was a different kind of dressing room environment for Iyer, where every batsman looked forward to getting an opportunity to attack the opposition.“That was the first time I’d ever witnessed anything like that: give us a chance and we’ll smash it.”

‘There was no room for mediocrity’: Iyer on Gambhir

Iyer attributed the team’s approach to the confidence Gambhir gave the players. According to him, the presence of a mentor meant that the batsmen were not afraid of failure but also knew that the standards expected of them were high.“He was sitting right behind us. No worries. And there was no room for mediocrity in that locker room. You can’t play a mediocre shot or fake a shot and come sit with him. You can’t do that.”Iyer clarified that Gambhir does 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 won under Gambhir in 2012 and 2014.