Gautam Gambhir reveals what KKR owners told him after replacing Sourav Ganguly as captain

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were one of the most hyped franchises ahead of IPL 2008 because of several reasons. The Kolkata-based franchise had one of the top Bollywood stars in the form of their owner. In addition to that, they had the local lad Sourav Ganguly at the helm along with superstars like Chris Gayle, Ricky Ponting and Brendon McCullum within their ranks. 

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Gautam Gambhir reveals what KKR owner told him ahead of IPL 2011

However, despite all the big names, KKR failed to live up to the expectations as they didn't qualify for the playoffs even once in the first three seasons. That's why the team went through a complete overhaul ahead of the IPL 2011. KKR brought Gautam Gambhir on board as the captain of the franchise. The southpaw was in terrific form as he was fresh from playing a match-winning 97-run knock in the final against Sri Lanka that won India their second ODI World Cup after 28 years.

KKR included players like Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis and Brett Lee within their ranks and the franchise's performance improved drastically. It didn't take them long to lay their hands on their maiden IPL trophy as they beat Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2012 final to win the coveted title.

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Now, nine years after Gautam Gambhir was handed the reins of the franchise, the southpaw has opened up on what the franchise's owners had told him before IPL’s fourth season in 2011. While speaking on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’, Gautam Gambhir said that the one of the KKR owners promised him that this was Gambhir's team and that he won't interfere at all in its running, so it was upto him to make it or break it. Gautam Gambhir promised in reply that by the time he leaves, whether it was gonna be in three years or six years, he will get the franchise in a much better position than what it was.

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Gautam Gambhir lived up to his promise as he led the franchise to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. KKR is the third most successful franchise in the league's history after Mumbai Indians (4 titles) and Chennai Super Kings (3 titles). Gautam Gambhir’s aggressive captaincy, his consistent batting and backing of youngsters like Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Andre Russell made KKR a force to reckon with.

Gautam Gambhir was instrumental in KKR's maiden IPL triumph as he scored 590 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 143.55 which is his best ever in the IPL. The 38-year-old, who led KKR for seven seasons, is also their highest run-scorer with 3,345 runs in 122 matches.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PTI