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Venkatesh Iyer Says Gautam Gambhir Set the Bar for KKR's 2024 Title Run
Iyer describes a dressing room full of players ready to step in, and credits Gambhir with making every role feel essential.
Venkatesh Iyer has pulled back the curtain on the Kolkata Knight Riders dressing room during their IPL 2024 title run, and the picture he paints is of a squad that never switched off. Speaking on a podcast with Aakash Chopra, Iyer said that by the time a match was still settling, a long line of KKR batters was already padded up and waiting for a call.
Iyer described that scene as a group of "lions ready to go." For him, it was more than a pre-match mood. It was proof of the standard that former mentor Gautam Gambhir had set, one in which nobody was allowed to coast and everyone was expected to pull their weight.
Iyer said Gambhir made excellence the baseline, not the aspiration. Senior players were expected to think beyond their own scorecards and ask how the team could get better. Iyer recalled conversations with Gambhir in the gym where he was pushed to speak candidly, to say what he felt and point out what needed fixing.
Roles were another area where Gambhir's approach stood out. Iyer recalled a half-century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, followed by a demotion to No. 8 in the next game, where he faced only the final ball. Instead of letting the switch dent his confidence, Gambhir reminded him that a player's worth is not measured in deliveries faced or the spot in the batting order.
That message, Iyer said, applied across the squad. A big score could win a match, but so could a quick 90 from Sunil Narine or a brief, explosive cameo from Ramandeep Singh. Positions could shift with the situation, but no one was considered expendable.
The results followed. KKR went on to win their third IPL title, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. For fans and for anyone interested in how winning teams are built, Iyer's account is a reminder that depth is not only about talent on paper. It is about a dressing room where every player knows his job, speaks up when it matters and stays ready when his number is called.
Read Iyer's full comments via India Today.
