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Shreyas Iyer, in his first address as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, has urged his teammates to care for each other and be united during good and bad times.
The 27-year-old, who had earlier led Delhi Capitals (DC), was purchased by KKR at the IPL 2022 mega auction for ₹12.25 crore. He was subsequently named skipper of the franchise for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season.
On Monday, KKR shared a video of their new IPL captain interacting with the IPL team. Giving his introductory speech, Shreyas Iyer said:
"Really happy to see all of you guys. I know it's not the time where we are supposed to get together or gel along. We didn't get that much time to basically know each other but whenever I look at you guys I see the leadership qualities in each and every one.
"You all have been a match-winner in your own way - for KKR, for your international teams and also for the domestic teams for the players who have come in right now.”
The right-handed batter, who has been in great form of late, stated that the players will need to back each other during the course of the tournament. He elaborated:
"We need to care for each other as a team because there will be tough times. There will be bad times, there will be good times as well. We need to support each other along the way and also block out the expectations from outside. At the end of the day, it’s going to be us who are going to be supporting each other on the field."
The KKR captain notched up three unbeaten half-centuries for India last month during the T20I series against Sri Lanka. He followed it up with scores of 27, 92 and 67 in the Test series.
View the IPL 2022 Tickets here.
"We need to enjoy ourselves" - Shreyas Iyer
While urging the players to go all out, the Kolkata skipper also stressed the importance of enjoyment. He said:
"I feel we need to enjoy ourselves, challenge each other right from the practice sessions because, come 26th March against CSK, we shouldn't have any regrets when we step off the field.
"Let us try and create that formidable relationship on and off the field and propel on the field. Let’s get started."
IPL 2022 will kick off with a rematch of last year’s final as KKR face defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26.
