Gambhir, Narine set to be retained by KKR

New Delhi: Gautam Gambhir will lead Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming Indian Premier League as the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise has decided to retain the left-handed opener along with West Indies mystery spinner Sunil Narine.

Gambhir has been a part of KKR since 2011 season after having spent his first three seasons with Delhi Daredevils.

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It was under Gambhir's captaincy that KKR won their maiden IPL title back in 2012 beating Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling final at the Chepauk.

In his first season with KKR, he had guided the team to the play-offs before losing the Eliminator. Gambhir has been a prolific performer in IPL having scored 2471 runs in 88 matches.

"Yes, Gambhir will be retained for the upcoming season. He has been an inspirational leader for KKR and retaining him also helps in maintaining the continuity for the franchise. The huge base of KKR fans have started relating with Gambhir and that's a big factor towards retaining him," an IPL official informed PTI today.

"As far as Sunil Narine is concerned, he has been a champion performer for the KKR in IPL. His wicket-taking ability and economy rate is there for everyone to see," he added.

It was the last season where KKR didn't exactly have a great campaign under Gambhir's leadership as they failed to qualify for the Play-Offs primarily due to their away campaign going haywire. KKR had finished seventh ahead of Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils.

Despite a disappointing campaign, Narine had held his own scalping 46 wickets in 31 matches.