Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise took a huge gamble in IPL 2023 edition when they named a local coach Chandrakant Pandit as the head coach of the franchise. KKR’s performance was quite topsy-turvy as they finished at 7th position on the points table. KKR’s owners have shown faith in Chandrakant Pandit and we might see a change in the strategy with the addition of Gautam Gambhir in the coaching setup.
The management would be considering promoting the flamboyant all-rounder Andre Russell up the order as the side already has the services of Rinku Singh & Sunil Narine who can play the role of finishers for the side. KKR needs to show faith in players and give them a long rope rather than frequent chopping & changing.
Chandrakant Pandit is very involved with his players- AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers was seen speaking on his You Tube channel. AB de Villiers heaped praise on Chandrakant Pandit and stated that he is a really confident guy. AB de Villiers pointed out that Chandrakant Pandit reminds him of Jurgen Klopp from Liverpool. AB de Villiers made a huge statement on KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer and said that he loves the attacking nature of Iyer.
“I have really enjoyed what I have seen with him. He’s a really confident guy. He looks like one of the team players, like he’s part of the team. Sometimes coaches are a bit more withdrawn from the side. With a bit more of an aura and a presence, this guy feels the match,” said AB de Villiers.
“Chandrakant Pandit reminds me of Jürgen Klopp from Liverpool. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s very involved with his players and you can see it means a lot to him. I have a lot of respect for Shreyas Iyer, love the attacking nature of cricket that he plays in all formats of the game,” he added.
Great chance for KKR
It won’t be wrong to say that Gautam Gambhir knows how to win IPL championships as he was the first one who led the team to the title in 2012 and then in the 2014 edition. Gambhir in one his interviews had said that IPL is a serious tournament, earlier he was a part of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as a mentor as well; he very well knows how to bring the best out of players.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer would be roaring to make a mark after BCCI removed him from the list of contracted players. According to sources with knowledge it was believed that Iyer was seen in the preparatory camp of KKR. In all these chaos, it will be interesting to see how he performs in IPL 2024 as the T20 WC 2024 is just steps away.