It has been almost two months since the Kolkata Knight Riders won their third IPL crown in Chennai back in May. But celebrations in the city are still awaited.

The buzz in cricket circles is that a plan is afoot to bring the squad to the city later this month. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), however, is "not sure" of such a plan.

“If anything, Nabanna could be aware of such a plan,” said a CAB source on Wednesday.

If the plan does materialise, the Knight Riders could be seen celebrating their IPL 2024 triumph at Eden Gardens on July 23.

Back in 2012 and 2014, after the Knight Riders had secured their first two IPL titles, Nabanna had played its part in organising a felicitation programme for them, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee was also present. So was the Knight Riders principal owner Shah Rukh Khan.

On this occasion as well, Shah Rukh is expected to be present alongside his team members if the programme happens. The same cannot be said about Gautam Gambhir though.

The tour of Sri Lanka, which is set to be Gambhir’s first assignment as Team India head coach, begins with the T20I series on July 27. So, it’s quite unlikely that the former KKR mentor will be there at the Eden celebrating with the Knights when just three days remain for the first game of the Sri Lanka tour.

There’s also uncertainty over the presence of most of KKR’s frontline players like Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh as they are expected to feature in the upcoming white-ball games against Sri Lanka. “By July 23 or 24, they may have to leave for Sri Lanka. So, it will be very surprising if Gambhir and others still get the permission to attend the programme,” a BCCI source said.

The franchise is also on the lookout for a replacement for Gambhir, who was key to its third IPL crown this year. The name of legendary South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who had coached KKR in 2019, is also doing the rounds.