NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have unveiled their jersey in anticipation of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, set to commence on March 22.
"The armour of our Knights Presenting, our official matchday jersey for #TATAIPL2024!" KKR said in a post on X.
During the ceremony, KKR's mentor Gautam Gambhir said that he did not make KKR a successful franchise with two title wins in 2012-14 during his stint as a player from 2011-17 for the team.
"I did not make Kolkata Knight Riders successful, it was KKR that made me a successful leader. KKR meant passion, honesty, sacrifice, and selflessness. I have to thank Shah Rukh Khan and Venky Mysore (the CEO). SRK taught me honesty, dignity, and being fair to everyone. Every player says this about their own franchise's supporters but I mean it - it's the most passionate and the most loyal fan base. I can assure you of one thing - we will fight for our pride, we will fight for your pride, for your joy, and to bring smiles to your faces," said Gambhir.
KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said that all the players in the squad are match winners and he is looking forward to making great memories this season.
"I feel that all the players in the squad all match winners in their own way and they have proved it in the past as well. I am looking forward to having some great memories this season and fingers crossed, lift the trophy as well. Great moments are born with great opportunities and captaining this squad in front of 60,000 fans in the stadium when the atmosphere will be electrifying and crowd will be bustling - I cannot wait for it," said Iyer.
Head coach Chandrakant Pandit also said that he is proud of how the team played in last season.
"Every individual, young and experienced, and even support staff, had contributed. Players at this level know their own responsibilities and one must give them the freedom to play at the best of their ability. When they go out, they have always shown that aggression, that fire in the belly, and we have always seen that spirit in the dressing room. There was also some great motivation behind it - Kolkata's people loved them so much and they did not want to disappoint them," said Chandrakant.
KKR finished seventh last season, with six wins in 14 matches and eight losses. With 12 points, they did not reach playoffs.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
IPL 2024
squad: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya , Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain.
English (US) ·