KKR New Head Coach: Chandrakanth Pandit is a Six-time Ranji Trophy winner as a coach, he has guided Mumbai to the Ranji title thrice, and also guided Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha twice in his domestic career as a coach.
Chandrakanth will become the first Indian coach to become the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). John Buchanan was the first head coach of Kolkata Knight Rider’s team followed by Dave Whatmore, Trevor Bayliss, Jacques Kallis, and Brendon McCullum who is now being replaced by Chandrakanth Pandit.
When asked about coaching a commercial IPL side he said that “I’ve always said that IPL’s a different format. But ultimately, it’s cricket. So whatever the format demands, I’ll have to fulfill that properly with passion and commitment. That is how I’m looking at it,”
Talking about the advantages as a coach he added saying “One big advantage for me is that I’m India-based, so I’ll have a fair knowledge about the guys and their psyche. Whatever feedback I’ve got from the players, the support staff, and franchise officials, I’m very, very confident that this kind of interference doesn’t happen,” “Shreyas and I have spent two years in Mumbai during my tenure as coach. We know each other so well and we had also played the (Ranji Trophy) final in back-to-back seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17).”
Chandrakanth is known for winning trophies at the domestic level but now he has a big task in his hands because the KKR side has not won the title since 2014.
He also talked about working with International players quoted saying “We all know that the IPL teams have a combination of domestic and international players. Obviously, all these players have a lot of experience. Some of our domestic players are playing for India as well,”
He then concluded by saying “So of course, I’ll have to study with everyone, and I believe that cooperation and rapport will help us to go forward. There are people who are scouting for talent, which will be of great help to us. After all, every franchise looks for good players. So if these guys (from Bengal) do well, they will have a fair chance.” (Source – Insidesport)
His latest achievement was when he won the last Ranji Trophy in early June with Madhya Pradesh for the second time in his domestic career.
This will be the first that Chandrakanth will be leading an IPL team and only time will tell how well this signing will work out.
