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When Gautam Gambhir Had To Apologise To Brendon McCullum During IPL 2012

image-lsd2az67KKR lifted their maiden IPL trophy in 2012 (X.com)

Back in the IPL 2012 season, Gautam Gambhir led the Kolkata Knight Riders to their first-ever IPL title. In the process, Gambhir had to make the tough call of dropping the dangerous Brendon McCullum to make a place for a foreign player. The Southpaw even apologised to McCullum in front of the whole team for dropping him in the final against Chennai Super Kings. 

Gautam Gambhir is among the most successful captains in the history of IPL with two IPL titles under his belt. Today, Gambhir took Instagram to share a video where he recalled the incident of dropping and apologising to McCullum for the IPL 2012 final. 

The Indian batter shared that, Lakshmipathi Balaji got injured and they had to make room for the fast bowler, Brett Lee, which forced the management to drop a foreign player not because of his performance but because of the combination. Manvinder Bisla replaced Brendon and played the best innings of his life winning the maiden IPL title for the KKR team. 

"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.' 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 also shared that he wanted to go on the field with a clear mind and just to win the trophy not with the guilt of dropping someone, so he apologised to McCullum in front of the whole team. 

"Had I not apologized in front of the entire team, somewhere deep inside my heart, I would have had that guilt that I have not communicated well enough. 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."

Manvinder Bisla, who opened the innings with Gambhir instead of McCullum in the final, went on to smash 89 runs off just 48 deliveries and helped KKR chase a mammoth total of 191 runs comfortably. Gambhir also led the KKR team to another IPL title in 2014, which is still the last title KKR won.