“KKR is very close to my heart”: Gautam Gambhir

New Delhi [India]: Following his return to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a mentor, the former India international Gautam Gambhir said the franchise is very close to his heart.

Gambhir hoped that he could deliver for the franchise in the upcoming season of the IPL.
The 42-year-old said he wants to repay all the love he received from the people of Bengal during his earlier tenure with the two-time IPL champions.

“Going back to where there was 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 got from the people of Bengal, it is time to repay it,” Gambhir told ANI.
Gambhir served as Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) mentor for two years during which the franchise finished third in both seasons.

After making their place in the playoff, they got eliminated by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the 2022 and 2023 seasons respectively.

Gambhir has now returned to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team that he guided to IPL glory in 2012.
Earlier, Gambhir was associated with the Kolkata-based franchise from 2011 to 2017, which is considered the golden period of KKR.

During this period, 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