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Following his appointment as the head coach of Indian team, former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir paid a tribute to the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and its fans as he vacates his position as the coach of the franchise after helping them secure their first title in a decade this season.
Gambhir was announced as the new head coach of Team India, replacing batting legend Rahul Dravid, on July 9 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Gambhir took to X, sharing a heartwarming video with a message showing his close relationship with Kolkata, a franchise he took to two IPL titles as a captain as well. Though Gautam acknowledged that he and Kolkata "are a story, are a team", there are more "bigger legacies" to be made together, "bigger and bolder" scripts to be written with him being part of the Indian cricket team coaching set-up. "I smile when you smile. I cry when you cry. I win when you win. I lose, when you lose. I dream when you dream. I achieve when you achieve. I believe with you and I become with you. I am you, Kolkata, I am just one of you. I know your struggles and I know where it hurts. The rejections have crushed me but like you, I wake up embracing hope. I get beaten every day but like you, I am yet to be defeated. They tell me to be popular, I tell them to be a winner. I am you, Kolkata I am just one of you. This Kolkata air talks to me. The sounds, the streets here, the traffic jams. They all convey how you feel. I hear what you say, but I know what you mean. I know you are emotional. So am I. I know you're demanding. So am I. Kolkata, we are a bond. We are a story. We are a team," said Gambhir in his video message. https://x.com/GautamGambhir/status/1813241311052345689 "And now the time has come when we have to create some legacies together. The time has come when we have to write some bigger and bolder scripts. The script not with purple ink but in that blue, the treasured India blue. As we both take our fresh card we promise each other that we will never walk alone. It will always be shoulder-to-shoulder, hand in hand. It will all be for the tricolor. It will all be about our India," he added. Gambhir's stint with KKR in IPL 2024 was met with a lot of acclaim as he transformed the whole playing style of the team after some underwhelming seasons. Led by openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, KKR was one of the most feared and hard-hitting batting units of the season. The spin bowling duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Narine, the youth and energy of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora also played a big role in the team's title win. The title win also uplifted Indian middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer's profile highly, as he was removed from the BCCI's central contract list earlier this year. After his stint with KKR, fans are looking forward to see Gambhir take forward Team India on a trophy-winning spree with same aggressive, winning and never-give-up mentality. Rahul Dravid's tenure as the head coach of Team India came to an end after the conclusion of the final match of the T20 World Cup 2024, where India beat South Africa by seven runs to win the prestigious trophy after 17 years. Recapping the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, Virat Kohli and Axar Patel's attacking partnership took India closer to their dream by propelling them to a competitive total of 176/7. Despite a nervy defence, the Men in Blue managed to defend the total and clinch a 7-run win to lift their second T20 World Cup title. (ANI)
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