Dwayne Bravo, the former West Indies cricketer, has taken on the role of mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2025 season, succeeding Gautam Gambhir. With KKR having secured their third IPL title last season under Gambhir’s leadership, Bravo is set to build upon the successful strategies of his predecessor while introducing his own unique approach to the team.
Gambhir’s departure to become the head coach of the Indian national team has opened the door for Bravo to step into this key mentoring role. Despite the change in leadership, Bravo has made it clear that he intends to combine the best elements of Gambhir’s methods with his personal style of leadership.
“Unfortunately, we lost some players. But I think GG had his style, I have my style. We’re both successful in our own ways,” Bravo stated, acknowledging Gambhir’s past success while emphasizing his own distinct approach moving forward.
In his first media interaction with KKR ahead of the new season, Bravo shared that he has already reached out to Gambhir for advice and support, seeking to tap into his predecessor’s wealth of experience. “Definitely, I messaged him a few times and stuff. But again, I will be leaning a lot on these guys because they had a successful formula. And it’s important that we follow that formula,” Bravo said, highlighting the importance of maintaining continuity with what worked for the team last season.
Bravo also stressed the significance of respecting the past successes while striving for team stability. “I think it’s going to be disrespectful of me not to try and find out some of the good things he did last season. But also, the core of the team is here. And that’s our responsibility, coach, myself, Venky sir to go back into the auction and try our best to get back. It was our duty to go into the auction and try to get back as much as the same squad of players from the championship-winning team. And we were able to get that,” the 41-year-old mentor explained.
While Bravo is strongly associated with Chennai Super Kings, his enthusiasm for joining KKR and collaborating with Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan was evident. He spoke highly of Khan’s investment in the game and the energy he brings to the franchise. “I think it is good to have a boss like Shah Rukh who is definitely really invested in the game. My first thing started off with the Trinbago Knight Riders when he first bought the team. I was the happiest person on the planet to know that someone like him showed that interest to buy a team in the Caribbean. But not only in the Caribbean, but my hometown. And I was able to help build Trinbago Knight Riders, one of, to this day, the most successful franchises in CPL history,” Bravo recalled.
He continued, “That energy and that vibe, I am going to try to bring that here as well. It is already a successful team. Behind MI and CSK, we have the third most trophies in the cabinet and we look to build on that.”
KKR’s IPL 2025 campaign will kick off on March 22, as they face Royal Challengers Bangalore at Eden Gardens, marking the beginning of Bravo’s journey as the team’s mentor.
Photo Credit: Facebook Photo of Dwayne Bravo
