Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team owner, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, shared that he felt Gautam Gambhir had never truly left the team. This was before Gambhir’s return as a mentor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) season last year. Gambhir’s comeback proved to be a game-changer, as KKR clinched their third IPL title after a 10-year wait. The Shreyas Iyer-led team triumphed over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final to become champions. “I never felt Gautam Gambhir had gone anywhere. We’ve always had a wonderful relationship with Gautam over the years. Some friendships remain strong, and Gautam Gambhir is one of them. His return was a real homecoming,” Shah Rukh Khan stated on JioHotstar’s ‘Power Play’.
However, Gambhir’s time with KKR as mentor was only for the 2024 season. In July of the same year, he was appointed as the head coach of the Indian national team, succeeding Rahul Dravid.
Former KKR player Robin Uthappa mentioned that Gambhir’s departure from KKR in 2017 created a void, which impacted the team’s performance.
“When Gautam was no longer with KKR, it felt like things were unsettled. After he left, there seemed to be a lack of clear direction. It felt like panic set in at some point. From an outside perspective, you could tell that things weren’t as smooth as they appeared. KKR is always expected to perform at a high level, and when their performance didn’t live up to their reputation, it became clear that a change was necessary.”
“As soon as I heard about Gautam Gambhir’s return, I tweeted that Gautam Gambhir coming back was the best thing to happen to KKR since he left!”
Former Indian player Ajay Jadeja added, “The relationship between KKR and Sourav Ganguly, with both fans and within the team, wasn’t producing great results. So, a significant change was planned in 2011. The biggest change 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.”
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, KKR has announced veteran Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane as their new captain and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer as the vice-captain.
Rahane has previously captained Rajasthan Royals, leading them to the IPL 2018 playoffs, and the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. Once KKR brought in Rahane, it was almost certain he would be the captain, although there were talks about Iyer, the franchise’s most expensive purchase at Rs 23.75 crore in the mega auction, and Rinku Singh being potential leaders.
Rahane recently captained Mumbai to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the domestic cricket season. He was also the highest run-scorer in the competition with 469 runs in nine matches, including five half-centuries, and was named Player of the Tournament.
Topics mentioned in this article: Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir, Shah Rukh Khan, IPL 2025, IPL 2024, Cricket
