Kolkata Knight Riders new mentor Dwayne Bravo and captain Ajinkya Rahane during a press conference in Kolkata on March 13, 2025. Photo:X/@KKRiders
New Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Dwayne Bravo does not want the Indian Premier League defending champion to change its winning formula.
Bravo has communicated with Gautam Gambhir, who mentored the side to its third title before moving on to coach India, while taking up the new responsibility.
“It’s going to be disrespectful of me not to try and find out some of the good things he (Gambhir) did last season. The core of the team is here. It was our duty to go into the auction and try to get back as much as the same squad of players from the championship winning team. We were able to get that. Unfortunately, we lost some players,” Bravo said at the season opening press conference of the franchise at the Eden Garden in Kolkata on Thursday (March 13, 2025).
“GG has his style, I have my style. We’re both successful in our own ways. Definitely, I messaged him a few times. I will be leaning a lot on these guys because they had a successful formula. It’s important that we follow that formula.”
Bravo, who was part of the Caribbean Premier League champion Trinbago Knight Riders, a sister franchise of KKR, said, “That energy and that vibe, I am going to try to bring that here as well. It is already a successful team. We look at building on that.”
Captain Ajinkya Rahane stuck to his ‘team first’ philosophy. “It’s an honour to be the captain of this wonderful franchise. Chandu (coach Chandrakant Pandit) Sir and I worked together when he was with the Mumbai team. He’s very disciplined, focused, and knows how to get the best out of every individual,” said Rahane.
“For me, it’s always about having good communication with our players. Giving them that freedom on the field to express themselves and try and understand each other. It will be a challenge for us to defend the title. That’s why we play cricket.
“Our preparation has been really good. We had a very good 10-day camp in Mumbai and then here. I expect everyone to have good intent, good attitudes.”
Pandit said dealing with a new captain and a new mentor was not difficult. “There is a core group. About the support staff change, they are all experienced,” said Pandit.
KKR vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer said even though he could not avoid the attention due to his price tag (Rs 23.75 crore), which made him the third most expensive player at the mega auction, he tried to absorb the pressure. “When the IPL starts (on March 22 with KKR meeting Royal Challenger Bengaluru here), it really will not matter for what price you were picked or what is expected out of you. If you are taking the field for a side, you will be expected to do well,” said Venkatesh
Showing camaraderie, Rahane supported his deputy. “Venkatesh Iyer deserves that price. People are talking about all these things but he has done well for his franchise on a number of occasions,” said Rahane.
Published – March 13, 2025 06:25 pm IST