Chandrakant Pandit takes over KKR: Looking back at Kolkata's performance under 5 former coaches
One of the most popular teams of IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has appointed a new head coach, Chandrakant Pandit. Pandit is a renowned coach in the domestic cricket circuit, who recently guided Madhya Pradesh to their maiden Ranji Trophy.
His appointment comes after Brendon McCullum left KKR as head coach and took over as the coach of the England team earlier this year.
Who is Chandrakant Pandit? In 2018-19, Chandrakant Pandit led the Vidharba team to two consecutive Ranji Trophy wins. He has a phenomenal record as head coach in domestic cricket. He has also been one of the best wicket keepers of the Indian team in the 1980s who was ready to take on the role from Syed Kirmani. But a few setbacks in his international career prevented him from doing so.
He has played 5 Tests and 36 ODIS from 1986 to 1992. After retirement, he started a cricket academy in his school, Hansraj Morarji Public School in Mumbai. Over the years, he has had a very productive stint with a lot of domestic teams.
IPL 2022, however, was not a good season for KKR since the team failed to qualify for the play-offs. The two-time IPL champions could win only six out of their 14 matches and they finished 7th on the points table. Under the management of Pandit, the the team under Shreyas Iyer would look to redeem itself in the next season; in IPL 2023.
While Pandit takes the reins of KKR, trying to guide the team to an IPL trophy, what has KKR's journey under other coaches been like?
How has KKR performed under other coaches?
John Buchanan (2008-2009): The cap of the worst coach of KKR over the years perhaps goes to John Buchanan. Under his management, the team had an abysmal run: unable to even qualify for the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. A lot of infighting and dressing-room politics dealt a blow to the team's morale, and this was a team that was anyway on a losing spree. Eventually, Buchaan was shown the door in 2009.
Dav Whatmore (2010-2011): Dav Whatmore took over the team under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly in the third season of the IPL. However, the team still couldn't revive itself and ended up losing 7 out of the 14 matches. It finished 6th on the points table. It was only in 2011, when there was a complete overhaul in KKR, that the team qualified for the playoffs under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
Trevor Bayliss (2012-2015): So far, he has been the best coach of KKR. Under his leadership, the team went on to win two IPL titles, in 2012 and 2014. He worked closely with Gautam Gambhir and created a strong team.
Jacques Kallis (2016-2019): Under Kallis, KKR had a very good run as the team qualified for the playoffs from 2016 to 2018. Kallis, who himself played for KKR as an opening batter from 2011 to 2015, worked fine as a coach too.
Brendon McCullum (2020-2022): McCullum became the coach of KKR in 2020. The team had a good season as KKR made it to the IPL finals in 2021 - after nearly seven years. Though the team lost the match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), it was highly praised for its effective turnaround in performance in the second leg of IPL 2021. McCullum left KKR in 2022 after his contract with the team ended.
Chandrakant Pandit also the first Indian coach: Notably, Pandit is also the first Indian coach of KKR. Over the years, the team has had foreign coaches. Also, not many know, he was approached by the KKR management to become the assistant coach of the team, but he declined the offer because he didn't want to work under a foreign coach. Finally, the management gave him the responsibility on his own terms.