When ITC Sonar and Royal Bengal get a purple hue you know that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are in town. With the Knights set to take over the Eden Gardens on March 23 for their first match of the season against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), KKR held their “KKR Unplugged” event at the ITC Sonar’s Sundarban lawn on March 18. Besides presenting the Knights in front of the 400 or so fans in attendance, the event also involved unveiling KKR’s new kit for this season.
Venky Mysore and Vikrant Mudaliar unveil the new KKR kit for 2024
Venky Mysore, the CEO of Knight Riders Sports, unveiled the Knight’s new threads for 2024 alongside Vikrant Mudaliar, the CMO of Dream 11, which is the new principal sponsor for KKR. Once the kit was unveiled via video, those present got to see each of the Knights on stage in their fresh jerseys, with the gold shining bright and the purple exuding class.
In a much-awaited homecoming, Gautam Gambhir, who has returned to the franchise as a mentor, took to the stage with coach Chandrakant Pandit. GG’s return was celebrated with a loud roar. Gambhir was all smiles, with some of the fans carrying “Welcome Home” posters of their beloved two-time title-winning skipper.
‘KKR has the most loyal fans and they have been with us through all the highs and lows’
(L-R): Gautam Gambhir, Chandrakant Pandit and Shreyas Iyer
While the fans erupted in jubilation for mentor Gambhir, current captain Shreyas Iyer and the IPL’s most expensive signing in Mitchell Starc, the loudest roars were reserved for the pocket dynamo that is Rinku Singh, the man who hit five consecutive sixes against the Gujarat Titans (GT) last season. “Players from every franchise will say their fans are the most loyal, but I can say this with complete honesty that KKR has the most loyal fans and they have been with us through all the highs and lows,” said Gamhir, as the KKR management brought superfan Ashok Chakrborty on stage. Ashok paints his body purple and turns up for every KKR game at Eden with his flag and conch. For his unstinting loyalty to KKR, Iyer presented Ashok with a “Golden Ticket”, giving him access to every single KKR game this season.
Speaking about his successful tenure as captain, Gambhir said: “It wasn’t me that made KKR successful but the team that made me a successful leader. I’ve learned a lot from the players around me — passion, honesty, sacrifice and selflessness. Some of those who I learnt from are still in the team today,” said Gambhir, referencing the likes of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Gambhir also spoke about the support he has received from the team ownership over the years and now that he is back he is thankful to “Venky and Shah Rukh [Khan], who have always handled my tantrums. I can be a very difficult person to manage, but the message has been the same as it was in 2011. Back then, SRK had told me: ‘It’s your team, make it or break it.’”
Coach Pandit then took the mic and said: “We had a few key players missing last year like Shreyas, who’s someone no team would like to miss. The addition of Mitchell Starc gives us an additional facet that we missed last year. We’re very proud of the way we performed last year with young players such as the likes of Rinku Singh and Suyash Sharma stepping up.”
‘I can’t wait to captain this squad in front of 60,000 fans at Eden’
Iyer is keen to make up for missing out on last season due to injury
Having missed out on leading the Knights at the Eden Gardens last year, Iyer has returned with a renewed vigour and is looking forward to leading his troops: “It’s an honour to lead this team. We have some fantastic players in the squad, and fingers crossed, we lift the trophy as well. Great moments are born with great opportunities and captaining this squad in front of 60,000 fans at Eden, where the atmosphere will be electrifying, is something I can’t wait to experience.”
(L-R): Mitchell Starc, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh
Vice-captain and key KKR batter Nitish Rana said: “It’s great to have our captain back. Last year we missed a death bowler, so having Mitch in our squad is an important step in us going forward.” Starc, who had landed in Kolkata the day before, was also at ITC and added: “It’s nice to be here in the new kit. I can’t wait to hit the ground running. I’m really excited for the first game and to see a full house in purple and gold.”
Usha Uthup performing at ‘KKR Unplugged’
The evergreen Usha Uthup also graced the event, adding customised KKR touches to many of her iconic songs. She also launched the latest edition of the KKR app, the Knight Club Plus, a must-have for all KKR fans.
After an underwhelming campaign last time around, KKR are all set to bounce back this term, hoping to go all the way for the first time in a decade.
