Gautam Gambhir gives soul-stirring speech on first day as Kolkata Knight Riders mentor

Kolkata Knight Riders’ newly appointed mentor Gautam Gambhir formally spoke to the squad recently and conveyed the message that the side will have to play as a unit and focus on winning the title. On his first day with the Kolkata Knight Riders squad, Gambhir spoke passionately to the players. During his speech, the former India cricketer told the players that they were part of a very successful franchise and now needed to embody that mentality on the field.

Gambhir said, “You guys are representing a very successful franchise. Make sure you train that way, you play that way and you carry that attitude around the field. That is going to be very, very important. And one thing I absolutely believe in is giving all the freedom to the players. That is something which is very, very important.”

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Gambhir also pointed out that all the players in the squad would be given equal treatment and there would be no discrimination based on seniority or nationality, and reiterated their shared goal of reaching the IPL final and emerging victorious.

The official handle of the Kolkata-based franchise shared a video of Gambhir’s speech on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “Guru Gautam Gambhir’s first speech,” read the post shared by Kolkata Knight Riders.

Gambhir also said that all players need to give their best efforts and on May 26, the side should be standing in the final and the efforts start from this day. The World Cup-winning former India cricketer added the need to prioritise winning over glamour in the IPL. He said that KKR’s sole objective should be to secure victory in the tournament and guaranteed transparency from the support staff. He also said that all players would be encouraged to express themselves freely and ask questions whenever they desired clarification from the team management.

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“It starts from today and this is what we want to do. So if we walk the same path and we fight, I’m sure we’re gonna achieve a lot of success. So good luck, guys. Have the freedom. Enjoy yourself. You can ask questions, whether close doors, or in front of everyone,” Gambhir said.

Kolkata Knight Riders will kick off their IPL 2024 campaign with a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad scheduled to be played on March 23rd at the Eden Gardens.