The Indian Premier League 2024 is just days away and Gautam Gambhir, who is the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, got a warm welcome from fans at the Kolkata airport. And upon his arrival, he revealed that Kolkata had become his second home. “Thank You for standing here and giving me a warm welcome. Kolkata is like my second home and KKR is an emotion,” Gambhir told reporters on Thursday.
The upcoming IPL season will begin on March 22, when the defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chepauk Stadium. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad in their tournament opener at the Eden Gardens. The fixture is slated to take place on March 23 at 7:30 pm.
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Earlier this week, the franchise roped in Phil Salt as Jason Roy’s replacement for IPL 2024. The franchise has overseas players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Mitchell Starc along with Indian players such as Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer and Varun Charkavarthy.
In 2023, KKR, led by Nitish Rana, finished in the seventh position in the points table after winning six matches and losing eight. The side failed to qualify for the playoffs with 12 points.
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The former India cricketer also delivered an encouraging speech dedicated to the whole squad ahead of the 17th season of the cash-rich tournament. He gave the squad a sense of direction and how they would plan to face the challenges in the upcoming edition.
“You guys are representing a very successful franchise. Make sure you train that way, you play that way and you carry that attitude around the field. That is going to be very, very important. And one thing I absolutely believe in is giving all the freedom to the players. That is something which is very, very important,” Gambhir said.
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Watch Gautam Gambhir’s full speech here:
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In his passionate speech, Gambhir emphasised how important it is to play for a franchise like KKR and has urged the players to show the team’s winning legacy and philosophy. He assured the players that they would get the same respect and opportunities, which will help in the team’s success.
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