Chandrakant Pandit named head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders
New Delhi, Aug 17: The doyen of India's domestic coaches Chandrakant Pandit has been appointed Kolkata Knight Riders' head coach for the upcoming IPL season, the franchise announced on Wednesday.
Pandit replaces Brendon McCullum, who is now the head coach of the England Test side.
Pandit, the most celebrated coach in the Indian domestic circuit, recently guided Madhya Pradesh to their maiden Ranji Trophy title, having won the national championship multiple times with Mumbai and Vidarbha.
Known to work wonders with unheralded domestic teams, this will be the former India wicketkeeper's first big assignment at the elite level.
"We are very excited that Chandu is joining the Knight Riders family to lead us through the next phase of our journey," KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement.
"His deep commitment to what he does and his track record of success in domestic cricket, is there for everyone to see. We are looking forward to his partnership with our skipper Shreyas Iyer, which promises to be an exciting one," he added.
Accepting the new challenge, Pandit said, "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 set up and I am looking forward to this opportunity with all humility and positive expectations."
The 60-year-old Pandit played five Tests and 36 ODIs for India between mid '80s to early '90s.
In an interview to PTI, Pandit had said that he had once had a meeting with KKR's principal owner Shah Rukh Khan during the early years of IPL but back then he had made it clear that he wasn't keen to join support staff as an assistant coach.
🚨 We have a new HEAD COACH!
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) August 17, 2022
Welcome to the Knight Riders Family, Chandrakant Pandit 💜👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/Eofkz1zk6a
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Virat Kohli, KL Rahul likely to miss upcoming Ranji Trophy matches
Bengaluru: Star batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are expected to miss the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy, as both have reportedly informed the BCCI's medical team about carrying injuries. As a result, neither will be able to represent their respective state teams in the next round of the tournament, set to begin on January 23.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Kohli had neck pain and had taken an injection on January 8, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in Sydney. Kohli told the BCCI medical staff that he was still experiencing pain, ruling him out of Delhi's game against Saurashtra in Rajkot.
KL Rahul is still recovering from an elbow niggle and will likely miss Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. He has conveyed to the BCCI medical staff his concern about the issue, and they are monitoring him currently, PTI reported.
However, both the batters have a chance to play in the season's last final round, starting on January 30.
Meanwhile, the BCCI recently unveiled a stringent set of 10-point disciplinary guidelines. They have made it compulsory for each centrally-contracted player to represent their state teams in domestic cricket to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts.
The board also stated that if any player is unavailable, he needs permission from the national chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
