Gambhir reunites with Kolkata in the Indian T20 League

Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata to Ind T20 League glory in 2012 and 2014, has linked up with the Men in Purple and Gold as their mentor, commencing with the forthcoming season in 2024. 

"I am not an emotional person and not many things move me. But this is different," Gambhir said via a statement. "This is back to where it all started. Today, there is a lump in my throat and fire in my heart as I think about slipping into that purple and gold jersey once again."

Gambhir, a T20 (2007) and ODI (2011) World Cup champion, signed up for Kolkata in 2011 and was with them till 2017. During the stint, Kolkata qualified for the playoffs five times (including the two years where they won the championship title) and also made it to the final of the now defunct Champions League T20 in 2014. 

"Gautam has always been part of the family and this is our captain coming back home in a different avatar as a 'Mentor'," team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan stated. "He was sorely missed and now we all look forward to Chandu [Chandrakant Pandit] Sir and Gautam in instilling the never-say-die spirit and of sportsmanship they stand for, in creating magic with Team Kolkata."

The Kolkata support staff is led by head coach Chandrakant Pandit, with Ryan Ten Doeschate (fielding coach), Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and James Foster (assistant coach) in the lineup. 

Kolkata, one of the very few units to have been a part of the competition since its establishment in 2008, advanced through the Ind T20 League final, where they lost to Chennai, in 2021, but have since concluded in both 2022 and 2023. 

In recent years, besides being a member of parliament and a TV cricket pundit, Gambhir allied with Lucknow in the Indian T20 League. He joined Lucknow, one of the two new teams in the 2022 season of the competition, and was later promoted to the role of “global mentor”, which made him a part of SA T20 League (Durban’s Super Giants) in South Africa.