Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir recalled apologising to his opening partner Brendon McCullum for dropping him from the team before the Final against then defending champions Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2012.
Ahead of the final against CSK, KKR suffered a setback as Lakshmipathy Balaji was ruled out of the title clash due to hamstring injury. Thus, skipper Gambhir and team management were forced to make a change in the combination. Replacing Brett Lee with Balaji led to dropping McCullum from the playing XI as the overseas quota was fulfilled.
Brendon McCullum was Gautam Gambhir's opening batting partner throughout the tournament until he was dropped ahead of the title clash against CSK.
Gautam Gambhir's apology to Brendon McCullum
In a video shared on Instagram, Gautam Gambhir revealed that he apologized to McCullum in front of entire KKR team for dropping him for the final, adding that there is nothing wrong in apologizing to the player.
"Before leaving for that final at Chepauk, I actually said sorry to Brendon McCullum in front of the entire team. I said 'I am really really sorry I had to drop you. The reason is not your performance, the reason is our combination." former KKR captain said.
"After playing the entire tournament and getting dropped for the final, no one wanted to do that. But I had the courage to apologize to him in front of the whole team. Nothing wrong in apologizing." Gambhir said.
Brendon McCullum was replaced with Mavindra Bisla as Gautam Gambhir's opening batting partner in the IPL 2012 Final. Bisla emerged as the star performer as he played brilliant innings of 89 off 48 balls at an impressive strike rate of 185.41 to help KKR chase down the target of 191 set by CSK in the final.
Reason behind apologising to McCullum
Revealing the reason behind apologising to his former KKR opening partner, Gautam Gambhir said he wanted to head to the IPL final without thinking anything apart from winning the title. Ex-KKR skipper added that he would've felt guilty if he hadn't communicated to Brendon McCullum about his dropping from the title clash.
"Honestly, I did that because as I wanted to go to the final without thinking anything and except winning the final. Had I not apologized him in front of the entire team, somewhere deep inside my heart, I would have had that guilt that I have not communicated well enough." Gambhir said.
"Leadership is not only about taking appreciation or shutting yourself off or taking credit. It's about doing this stuff as well. Sometimes it's awkward but that's how you grow as a leader." He added.
Under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL title in 2012. Two years later, in 2014, Gambhir again led KKR to second title of the tournament. Former KKR captain is back as a mentor of the team after serving two seasons as a mentor with Lucknow Super Giants.
