Great job, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana! Gautam Gambhir, the mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has applauded your appointment as captain and vice-captain. This honor is for the upcoming 2024 IPL season.
Gautam Gambhir, who guided the team to its only two championships in 2012 and 2014, was just named mentor. Meanwhile, Iyer led KKR in 2022 before being injured and missing the 2023 season. Nitish Rana assumed charge during his absence.
KKR CEO Venky Mysore made the formal announcement on the leadership roles earlier today, with Iyer returned from injury and all prepared to return to the IPL in 2024.
He stated:
“It was indeed unfortunate that Shreyas missed IPL 2023 due to injury. We are delighted that he is back and at the helm as captain. The way he has worked hard to recover from his injury and the form he has displayed is testament to his character. We are also grateful that Nitish had agreed to step up into Shreyas’ shoes last season and did a great job. There’s no doubt Nitish as vice-captain will support Shreyas in every way possible for the benefit of Team KKR.”
Venky Mysore
Hours later, Gautam Gambhir rushed to Twitter to congratulate the couple on their new jobs. Gautam Gambhir said:
“Congrats Shreyas and Nitish! Leaders ready for battle!,” tweeted Gambhir.
Gautam Gambhir
Unfortunately for KKR, they have failed to make the playoffs in the two seasons after their last run in 2021.
In their one year at the helm, Iyer and Rana both led the team to identical records of six wins and eight defeats, with a seventh-place finish.
KKR retain key players, release others for IPL 2024 auction
KKR kept several of its key players, including champion West Indian combo Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Despite the pair’s increasing age and decreasing form in recent years, the franchise has restored faith in them.
Shardul Thakur, an Indian fast bowling all-rounder, was not as lucky, as the franchise elected to release the 32-year-old after only one season. After a terrible 2023 season, Umesh Yadav, Locke Ferguson, Tim Southee, and Kulwant Khejroliya will be discharged, resulting in a total makeover of the fast bowling staff.
Fortunately for the franchise, the combination of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Suyash Sharma, who handled the most of the heavy work last season, has been retained. With the availability of Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, and the excellent Rinku Singh, Iyer’s comeback should strengthen their middle order.
For the forthcoming auction, KKR has a purse of 32.7 crore, and their key focus will be on strengthening the speed bowling core and finding trustworthy opening alternatives to join Jason Roy.
