New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday announced Indian domestic veteran cricketer Chandrakant Pandit as its new head coach. The Indian Premier League franchise was looking to fulfilling the spot which was left vacant after New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum quit the position as he took over England’s head coach in Test cricket.

KKR has won the IPL title two times and finished as runners-up in 2021. Their last win was registered in 2014.

Recently, Chandrakant Pandit coached Madhya Pradesh to their maiden Ranji Trophy title. Besides, in 2018 and 2019, he also coached the Vidarbha team to the Ranji Trophy title. He also coached Indian domestic cricket’s heavyweights in Mumbai.

During his playing days, he was a wicket-keeper batter and represented India in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs. He scored more than 8000 runs in first-class cricket at an average over 48.

KKR took to its social media to make the announcement. Also, Venky Mysore, CEO of KKR said, “We are very excited that Chandu is joining the Knight Riders family to lead us through the next phase of our journey. His deep commitment to what he does and his track record of success in domestic cricket are there for everyone to see. We are looking forward to his partnership with our skipper Shreyas Iyer, which promises to be an exciting one.

 

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After being charged with new responsibility, Pandit stated, “It’s a great honour and privilege to be given this responsibility. I have heard from players and others who have been associated with the Knight Riders, about the family culture, as well as the tradition of success that has been created. I am excited about the quality of the support staff and the players who are part of the setup and I am looking forward to this opportunity with all humility and positive expectations.”