Don’t think Mitchell Starc’s price tag will be an added pressure on him: Gautam Gambhir

After a gap of seven years, Gautam Gambhir has made his return to Kolkata Knight Riders. Under his leadership, the franchise won the coveted trophy in 2012 and 2014 but since then, they have reached the final once, while in other times, they even struggled to qualify for the playoffs. Under Gambhir, the franchise is expected for a new start as the former cricketer is well aware of how the team functions and most importantly, he knows the winning formula as he played a massive role in helping Lucknow Super Giants qualify for the playoffs in the last two editions of the competition.

Meanwhile, speaking about his much-anticipated comeback, Gambhir stated that the franchise is an emotion for him and he hopes to do justice and live up to the potential and make the fans happy at the end of the season.

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“I have always mentioned that KKR to me is not a franchise, but an emotion. I am thus happy to be back. I know there will be expectations and I hope to live up to it and make the fans happy,” Gambhir said in a video released by Kolkata Knight Riders.

Notably, the former cricketer also opened up on Australia pacer Mitchell Starc, for whom, KKR invested INR 24.75 crore in the auction. After a gap of nine years, Starc is all set to make his return to the IPL and Gambhir expects him to be the X-Factor for KKR in the tournament, which is slated to begin on March 22. Meanwhile, he also added that the price tag will not bother Starc, as he expects him to repeat what he usually does for Australia in international cricket.

“I don’t think the price tag will be an added pressure for him. I only hope he can do for KKR what he does for Australia in international cricket,” said Gambhir.

KKR will begin their IPL campaign on March 23, as they will host Sunrisers Hyderabad at the iconic Eden Gardens.