Shah Rukh Khan offered blank cheque to Gautam Gambhir to join KKR. Under Gambhir, KKR won the championship in both 2012 and 2014.
After two successful years with Lucknow Super Giants, Gautam Gambhir made his long-awaited return to Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2024. Under his leadership, KKR won the championship in 2012 and 2014 but left the franchise in 2017 to join Delhi Capitals. After his retirement, he made his way into coaching and has played a pivotal role in helping LSG qualify for the play-offs in 2022 and 2023.
Meanwhile, after qualifying for the finals in 2021, KKR have failed to make it to the play-offs in two successive years. To change things up, KKR co-owner and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan decided to bring back Gambhir, under whose leadership, the franchise had tremendous success.
According to reports, the co-owner offered the former cricketer a blank cheque, but it is unclear whether he accepted it. Despite this, the 42-year-old joined KKR and stated in his first speech that the team will fight for the title once more.
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Giving freedom to players is very, very important: Gambhir
The former KKR captain also stated that everyone on the team would be treated equally, with no discrimination between senior and junior teammates. The New Delhi native stated that the goal is to win the IPL for the third time and that everyone must follow a single path.
“I absolutely believe in giving the players complete freedom. That is extremely important. People who have played with me know that I treat everyone in this group equally. There is no senior or junior, domestic or international, because we only have one mission: to win the IPL. So everyone must take that one simple path,” Gambhir said in a video released by KKR.
Notably, KKR will kick off their campaign on March 23 against Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad at Kolkata’s iconic Eden Gardens. They will also face the Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first leg of the competition.
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