MUMBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders have left it to their injured captain Gautam Gambhir to decide whether he is fit to play in the Champions League T20 qualifying rounds, commencing in Hyderabad later this month.
“Unfortunately Gautam Gambhir is injured. We will not force him to play in the tournament. The decision whether he’s fit enough to play in the championship has to be completely his (to take) and to his fitness staff’s,” said the IPL franchise team’s owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at a media conference on Friday.
Gambhir hurt his head while attempting to take a catch in the fourth and final Test against England and suffered a concussion that led to blurred vision and dizziness, which has resulted in the opener being ruled out of the ongoing ODI series.
The Delhi left-hander is also set to miss the CLT20 as he has been advised rest to recover from the concussion.
Shah Rukh, who was on Friday launched as the face of the Champions League, said that injuries and sports go hand in hand.
“If you play sports you can get injured. No pain, no gain. The players know best about their injuries though at times they may take a decision (to play) which may go wrong. Sometimes players don’t know how serious is their injury and they want to play,” said Shah Rukh.
The Bollywood actor also rubbished growing criticism that it was the Indian Premier League that preceded India’s disastrous tour of England, which had led to the spate of injuries forcing the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team to lose several top players since it landed in England.
“It’s a knee-jerk reaction and happens only when we lose in cricket and not in other sports.,” said Shah Rukh, who also brushed aside the growing debate of country versus club after the success of the IPL.
“All of us, franchise owners, were happy with the runs scored by the likes of Tendulkar and Dhoni in the World Cup. We are all proud when the Indian team does well,” he said.
“You can stop IPL for one year and see what happens but I don’t think it will make any difference. We need to be a lot more patient,” he said.
Shah Rukh was also happy that KKR, despite having finished fourth in the previous season, have got a chance to qualify for CLT20.
“We have a good team. We have not won a trophy for a long time and it would be great if we can do so now,” said Shah Rukh.
SRK brushes aside Hussain comments
Shah Rukh also played down former England skipper Nasser Hussain’s controversial “donkey” remarks against some Indian players, saying they should not be taken at face value.
“Some of the expressions in English language are different. They should not be taken at face value,” said the actor at a media conference relating to Nokia Champions T20 League here today.
Hussain’s comments on TV during the course of the ongoing ODI series in England, terming some of the Indian players as “donkeys” in fielding, had enraged a lot of former cricketers and the BCCI. “We are one of the finest teams in the world. One does not turn into a donkey from a tiger just because some one says so,” he added. (PTI)