With the sixteenth edition of the TATA Indian Premier League slated to begin in a week’s time, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been making the most of their training sessions in the City of Joy.

On March 23, the Knights had an outdoor session at the Eden Gardens. The KKR faithful, as usual, greeted their beloved players with rousing chants of “Ami KKR” as the Knights entered the iconic ground.

The two-time TATA IPL champions had a grueling three-hour-long session which involved the usual warm-up, catching practice and net practice under the watchful eyes of Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit and the rest of the support staff at the floodlit stadium.

Batter Mandeep Singh, who is back in the KKR camp after thirteen long years, is excited at the prospect of representing his first TATA IPL team at the Eden Gardens again.

“Obviously it’s always a great feeling to return to the Eden Gardens. It feels great to play domestic cricket at this venue, but playing the IPL here is more special. I made my IPL debut for KKR at the Eden Gardens. I really enjoy playing here,” Mandeep, a past winner of the Emerging Player award, told kkr.in.

How is the team shaping up under Chandrakant Pandit’s stewardship? “I played under Chandu sir during my U-19 days. He is a great man-manager. I think that’s one of his biggest strengths,” the Punjab-born batter added.

KKR will travel to Mohali to take on Punjab Kings in their inaugural TATA IPL 2023 fixture on April 1.