Gautam Gambhir initiates his fight with Virat Kohli even before IPL 2024 opener, takes a dig at RCB team culture

Gautam Gambhir delivered a rousing speech to the Kolkata Knight Riders players on his first day with the franchise as a mentor. The former India opener joined the franchise earlier this week to start the preparations ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

He received a hero’s welcome at the airport as dozens of fans lined up and chanted his name while he made his way out. And it did not take the former Kolkata Knight Riders long to get down to business. Just a day after joining the franchise, he joined the training session and delivered a stirring speech to the players.

While the IPL 2024 is scheduled to begin on March 22, Gautam Gambhir told the players that their season has started already. He urged the players to give it their all as he reminded them they are representing a ‘very, very proud and successful franchise’.

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“We start the season from today whether it’s physically, mentally, skill-wise, give everything possible. It’s a very, very proud and successful franchise. You guys are representing a very successful franchise. Make sure you train that way, you play that way, and you carry that attitude on the field, that is going to be very, very important,” said Gautam Gambhir.

Gautam Gambhir eyes IPL title:

Speaking further, Gautam Gambhir made it clear that the aim of the team should be to win the IPL this year. He stated that every player will be treated equally and each player should have the same aim and that is to win the tournament.

“One thing I absolutely believe in is giving all the freedom to the players. That is something very, very important, So people who’ve played with me, know one thing about me that everyone in this group will be treated equally. There’s no senior/junior, there’s no domestic/international, because we’ve got one mission and that is to win the IPL,” said Gautam Gambhir.

“So everyone needs to follow that one simple path. On 26th May, we should be there, giving everything possible and it starts from today. It’s not gonna start on the 26th, it’s not gonna start on the 23rd, it starts today. This is what we wanna do, so if we walk the same path and if we fight, I’m sure we’re gonna achieve a lot of success,” he added.

Guru Gautam Gambhir’s first speech 🏟️🧏‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/muE7xXixml

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 16, 2024

KKR have not won the title since Gautam Gambhir led them to their second IPL title way back in 2014. Since then, they qualified for the final just once in 2021 and have struggled to perform consistently in recent years. With Gambhir returning to the franchise as a mentor, the team will be hoping that its fortunes change and it goes all the way this year.