Gautam Gambhir

Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was named captain of Kolkata Knight Riders team for the Indian Premier League season four starting April 8.

Announcing Gambhir’s appointment as KKR captain, the IPL team described him a thorough professional and praised his leadership qualities.

“We are delighted that Gautam Gambhir will be leading our team. He is a thorough professional and his performance and leadership qualities speak for themselves,” KKR CEO & MD Venky Mysore said in a KKR release. Gambhir said he was looking forward to leading the team in IPL 4.

“It’s a pleasure and an honour to lead the KKR team. I believe that the KKR management has put together a terrific team. I am looking forward to the season and feel very optimistic,” said Gambhir, who was Delhi Daredevils captain last season. He was bought by KKR for a record-breaking $2.4 million (Rs 11.04 crore) in the IPL auction held in Bangalore in January.

Along with Gambhir, six members of the KKR squad are currently playing in the World Cup. They are Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee, Brad Haddin, Ryan ten Doeschate and Shakib al Hasan.

Meanwhile Yuvraj Singh was captain of the Pune Warriors squad for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League.

The new entrant in the hugely successful league also announced its 30-member squad that includes, among others, Graeme Smith, Nathan McCullum, Wayne Parnell, Tim Paine, Jesse Ryder and Angelo Mathews.

Besides Yuvraj, Ashish Nehra, Robin Uthappa and Murali Karthik are the other capped players from India. Callum Ferguson, Mitchelle Marsh, Jerome Taylor and Alfonso Thomas are also part of the squad.

“Sahara’s Pune Warriors squad has been constituted with an intention to strike a balance between experience, exuberance, international expertise and promising talent of present and future. We are confident of making a mark on the league,” said Abhijit Sarkar, Sahara’s head of Corporate Communications.

“The enviable support and guidance from chief coach Geoff Marsh and assistant coaches Dermot Reeve and Praveen Amre together leverage their vast and complementing experience in international cricket to make the team a force to reckon with,” he added.

Tags: Gautam Gambhir, Indian Premier League, IPL, IPL 2011, IPL 4, KKR, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sahara Pune Warriors, Yuvraj Singh