Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Abhishek Nayar made a subtle comment about Mumbai Indians while explaining his franchise’s relationship with its players. He said franchises claim to be a family, but the amount of love KKR shows to its players is the real X factor.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is one of the successful franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They have won three league titles and their third title came in the recently concluded 2024 edition of the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders showed a sensational performance in IPL 2024 as they dominated throughout the tournament. They finished the league stage on a high and defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 and the Final to win their third title.
While the performances were for all to see, one of the main reasons behind the success was the way the entire team came together. The relationship between the owners, the team management and the players was exceptional and the good atmosphere in the locker room was soon the path to success for them.
Abhishek Nayar spoke about the love that exists between the KKR team. He stated that they are more than a family, even during the IPL and at his academy. The KKR mentor also spoke about how they helped shape Rinku Singh’s career and made the batsman score runs with a red ball. Speaking to TRS, he explained:
“Loyalty is a very common word, but for me the most prominent one is love. The genuine love that we have for each other, we have it for our players, we have it for our fans and, more often than not, we have it for our owners. There will be very few franchises and everyone will claim to be a family and we are all together, we also say we are a family, but the love we have for each other as individuals, barring IPL, is what I feel is our X Factor. .
“Whether it is IPL or not, our academy is here to make you grow. It doesn’t bother us if you did well in IPL, very good. But when we worked with Rinku Singh, the first success I had with Rinku Singh was 880 runs in first-class cricket. That was the first thing, I will never forget it. Because his objective was to make runs with a red ball. Because in UP they will only accept me when I make runs with a red ball. And KKR was part of that journey.”
I think the love factor is a little bit bigger – Abhishek Nayar on KKR
Abhishek Nayar further pointed out that the franchise owners show their love and care for the franchise and stated that their love factor, which is a little higher, separates them from others. He added.
“Venky sir encouraged that journey which made him a good cricketer. We want to improve his future, then he will do well in IPL, very well. So the only thing I feel for me is Shahrukh Khan, Jai Mehta, Juhi Chawla, Venky sir, all of them, including the kids, is love.
“The warmth, the hug, the kiss on the forehead, the congratulatory message, when they shake your hand, the smile on their face, you know it’s real. And that for me is special. I know every franchise has their way of doing it, but if you ask me about KKR, I would resonate with love. Everything else is common in most franchises, I think the love factor is a little more,” she concluded.