IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders appointed Chandrakant Pandit as the new coach of the team, replacing Brendon McCullum

IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday appointed Chandrakant Pandit as its new head coach. Pandit, who has had a successful coaching career with several domestic teams, recently coached the Madhya Pradesh team that won its first Ranji Trophy title. Pandit will replace New Zealand legend, Brendon McCullum. McCullum had decided to withdraw from the team after IPL 2022. Despite being an experienced coach, Chandrakant has never worked with any IPL franchise before.

Accepting the new challenge, Pandit said, “It is a great honor and privilege to be given this responsibility. I've heard from players and others who have been associated with the Knight Riders about the family culture as well as the success traditions that have been built up."

"I am excited about the quality of the support staff and players who have been a part of the set-up and I look forward to this opportunity with all humility and positive expectations," he added.

As a coach, Chandrakant has been instrumental in helping Mumbai (thrice), Vidarbha (twice in back-to-back seasons) and Madhya Pradesh (once) win Ranji Trophy titles. With KKR yet to win the IPL trophy since 2014, they now have high hopes from the domestic giant.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore said on Chandrakant Pandit being appointed as the coach, “We are very excited that Chandu is joining the Knight Riders family to lead us on the next leg of our journey. His deep commitment to what he does and his track record of success in domestic cricket are in front of everyone. We are looking forward to his partnership with our skipper Shreyas Iyer, which is expected to be an exciting one.”

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