Gautam Gambhir Spent Hours At Mannat In Meeting With Shah Rukh Khan, Left LSG Owner Stunned: Report

Between KKR and Team India, Gautam Gambhir has a big decision to make.

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir remains a man of extreme interest, and understandably so, because of the role he played in Kolkata Knight Riders' triumph at Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Gambhir only joined KKR ahead of this year's campaign, leaving Lucknow Super Giants, a franchise he had spent two years with. It has now been reported that Gambhir's switch from Lucknow to Kolkata wasn't a short-term call. In fact, a report has claimed that Gambhir and Shah Rukh Khan, KKR's co-owner, would often meet at the latter's house between 2018 and 2022.

According to a report in Dainik Jagaran, Gambhir made up his mind of leaving the Lucknow franchise in 2023 after being given the 'blank cheque' offer by Shah Rukh, who asked the former India opener to be at the Knight Riders for the next 10 years.

As Gambhir contemplated the idea of leaving LSG last year, despite having spent a couple of decent campaigns with the franchise, Shah Rukh was ready to not let the opportunity slip up. The Bollywood icon reportedly invited Gambhir to his house 'Mannat' and had chat for 2 hours.

Gambhir, who had led KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 as captain, was ready for the new challenge and decided to take up the KKR job. But, all of this came as a big surprise to LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka, who was baffled by the developments.

What next for Gautam Gambhir?