Following his return to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a mentor, former India international Gautam Gambhir said the franchise is very close to his heart. In an interview with a leading news agency, Gambhir expressed his hope that he could contribute to the franchise’s success in the upcoming IPL season.
The 42-year-old mentioned his desire to repay all the love he received from the people of Bengal during his earlier tenure with the two-time IPL champions. He stated, ‘Going back to where there were a lot of emotions, sweat, hard work, all those memories coming back. It’s a new start, and hopefully, we can deliver. KKR is very close to my heart because of the amount of love we have received from the people of Bengal. It is time to repay it,’ Gambhir said.
Gambhir served as the mentor for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for two years, during which the franchise finished third in both seasons. After securing a place in the playoffs, they were eliminated by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively. Gambhir has now returned to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team that he guided to IPL glory in 2012. Previously, Gambhir was associated with the Kolkata-based franchise from 2011 to 2017, considered the golden period of KKR. During this time, the team won the Indian Premier League (IPL) twice, qualified for the playoffs five times, and reached the finals of the Champions League T20 in 2014.