Following his appointment as the next head coach of the Indian National cricket team, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has posted an emotional video bidding farewell to Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Gautam Gambhir has been associated with the Kolkata Knight Riders since he joined the team in 2011. He then went on to lead the team to two IPL trophies as a player and a third as a mentor in 2024.

“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 become with you. I am you Kolkata, I am just one of you. I know your struggles and I know where it hurts. Rejections have crushed me but like you I wake up embracing hope, I get beaten everyday 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,” said Gambhir in the video.

Gambhir has signed on as the successor of T20 World Cup winning head coach Rahul Dravid and will be looking to make his mark with his first series against Sri Lanka coming up at the end of July.

His time in Kolkata opened new avenues for the 42-year old as his excellent mentorship throughout the course of the 2024 IPL campaign brought his leadership into light and resulted in him being considered for the all important role.

“This Kolkata air talks to me, the sounds, streets, 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, a story a team 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,” added Gambhir.

“As we both take our fresh chords we promise each other we will never walk alone. It will also be shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand. It will all be about that tricolor, it will all be about our India,” concluded the Indian team head coach.