Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan revealed that he never thought Gautam Gambhir ever left them before his return to the franchise as mentor ahead of the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gambhir’s return did wonders for the franchise as they lifted their third title after a gap of 10 years. Shreyas Iyer-led side defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final to emerge champions. “I never thought Gautam Gambhir left us. There has always been a lovely relationship with Gautam over the years. There are a few players with whom friendships remain strong, and Gautam Gambhir is one of them. For him, it was a big homecoming,” Shah Rukh said on JioHotstar’s ‘Power Play’.
However, Gambhir’s stay at KKR was only limited to the 2024 season, as he was named India head coach in July last year after the departure of Rahul Dravid.
Former KKR batter Robin Uthappa said Gambhir’s departure from the franchise in 2017 left a void, which reflected in the team’s performance.
“When Gautam was no longer with KKR, it felt like—where are the pieces going to settle? Since his exit, there was a slight loss of direction. I think, at one point, panic set in. From the outside, you could sense that things weren’t as smooth as they seemed. You always expect KKR to perform at a high level, and when the performances didn’t match the team’s aura, it became evident that something had to change.
“As soon as I heard that Gautam Gambhir was coming back, I remember tweeting that the best thing to happen to KKR since Gautam Gambhir leaving, was Gautam Gambhir coming back!”
Former India batter Ajay Jadeja added, “The relationship between KKR and Sourav Ganguly, whether with the fans or within the team, wasn’t yielding great results. So, in 2011, a major overhaul was planned. I think the biggest shift that year was that, before 2011, KKR was seen as Sourav Ganguly’s team. But from that point, it became Shah Rukh Khan’s team—with Gautam Gambhir leading them.”
Ahead of the start of the IPL 2025 season, KKR have named veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane as their new skipper and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer as vice captain.
Rahane’s previous IPL captaincy stints were with Rajasthan Royals, which led them to IPL 2018 playoffs, and the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. Once KKR got Rahane in, it was nearly certain that he would captain them, though names of Iyer, the franchise’s costliest buy in the mega auction with Rs 23.75 crore, and Rinku Singh as potential leaders were doing the rounds.
Rahane had captained Mumbai to winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the recent domestic cricket season, where he was also the competition’s highest run-getter with 469 runs in nine matches, including five half-centuries and was adjudged as Player of the Tournament.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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