Kolkata (West Bengal): Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will start the 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with new sponsor, new jerseys, new app launches, and most importantly a new mentor in former skipper Gautam Gambhir.
The Kolkata franchise failed to win the title for the past 10 years. This time they are desperate to start afresh by bringing back the captain, who gave them the coveted trophy twice, in the purple jersey as a mentor.
Returning to the Knights dressing room in the role of mentor, former captain Gautam Gambhir said, "KKR has established me as a successful leader. I did not make KKR successful," Gambhir said after the new jersey of the KKR was unveiled at a ceremony here.
"Passion, honesty, sacrifice, selflessness, the three people I have learned from watching are Andre Russell, Ryan ten Doeschate and Sunil Narine. It's not an easy task to manage me. Despite all the arrogance, monogamy, ego problems, I was handed the team and told to either build it, or break it. I have learned honesty, self-respect and equality from Shahrukh Khan. I also learned the mindset of showing attitude," added the former Delhi batter.
Gambhir, who was part of the 2011 ODI World Cup winning team, also claimed to fight for the team's glory. "I promise we will fight for your glory. Fight for your honor. Please support us. We will give everything to put a smile on your face," he added.
A touch of the mentor's mentality also echoed in captain Shreyas Iyer's statement. Iyer missed last season due to an injury, but is confident of playing from the scratch this year after regaining fitness.
"I am honoured and delighted to be the leader of a team that I look forward to. We have amazing coaches in our team who taught us how to be champions. Both coaches and mentors are amazing. Hopefully we can win the trophy this this time," added Shreyas, who plays for Mumbai in the domestic circuit.
KKR start their IPL campaign on Saturday, March 23 at the Eden Gardens here against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It will be an evening game.
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