Nitish Rana, the former captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the previous Indian Premier League (IPL) season, has responded to a recent post by Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to two IPL championships. Rana’s response has fueled speculation that Gambhir might be returning to the Knight Riders in some capacity. This speculation arose after Gambhir shared a heartwarming post on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside Bollywood superstar and KKR franchise co-owner, Shah Rukh Khan.
In the post, Gambhir expressed his admiration for Shah Rukh Khan, referring to him not only as the king of Bollywood but also the king of hearts. Gambhir conveyed his deep respect and affection for Khan, emphasizing the valuable lessons he has learned from him. He concluded the post by declaring Khan to be simply the best.
In a past interview, Gambhir revealed some words of wisdom imparted by Khan. He recounted Khan’s advice to him, which was essentially, “This is your team, make it or break it, I will not interfere.”
Gambhir had a successful stint with KKR from 2011 to 2017, leading the team to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 while amassing impressive run totals of 590 and 335 in those respective seasons. He remains KKR’s all-time leading run-scorer, tallying 3345 runs and notching up 30 half-centuries in 122 T20 matches.
Gambhir served as the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the last two IPL seasons and was subsequently promoted to the role of LSG’s global mentor ahead of IPL 2023.
True kings in their own fields! 👑 👑
— Nitish Rana (@NitishRana_27) September 21, 2023
Could this be a sign of a homecoming? Just wondering 💭 https://t.co/Rcg8GkqmJn
According to reports from Dainik Jagran, Gambhir is expected to part ways with LSG before the IPL 2024 season. A source mentioned to the publication, “After Andy Flower, Gautam Gambhir will now leave the IPL franchise. I can’t provide any further details at this time.”