Kolkata Knight Riders have confirmed that Chandrakant Pandit will not return as head coach next season. The decision follows a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign that left the two-time champions eighth in the 10-team table, only a year after he presided over their surprise title run.
“Mr. Chandrakant Pandit has decided to explore new opportunities and will not continue as Head Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders,” the franchise said. “We are thankful for his invaluable contributions – including leading KKR to the IPL championship in 2024 and helping build a strong, resilient squad. His leadership and discipline left a lasting impact on the team.”
Pandit, hired in August 2022 after years of domestic success with Madhya Pradesh, replaced Brendon McCullum amid expectations of a cultural shift. The first season under his watch ended in a flat seventh-place finish, but the following year delivered KKR’s third IPL crown and first since 2014. Such turnaround earned him considerable credit, yet the 2025 slump – five wins from 14 – coupled with lingering questions about his methods appears to have prompted an amicable parting.
Those methods were often described as strict. Last year Namibia all-rounder David Wiese, who spent the 2023 season in Kolkata, told the Hitman for Hire podcast: “He (Pandit) is known in India as a very military type of coach. He is very strict, very disciplinarian – that type of stuff. Sometimes in franchise cricket, when you have overseas guys, who’ve played all over the world, they don’t need anyone coming and telling them how they need to behave, what they need to wear and what they need to do the whole time. So, that was tough.”
Senior Indian players have rarely spoken publicly about the so-called “military” regime, but insiders admit the adjustment was easier for domestic squad members, many of whom had already flourished under Pandit in the Ranji Trophy. For overseas recruits who fly in for two months, the shift was more abrupt.
Complicating matters, KKR’s leadership tree has changed almost annually. Gautam Gambhir came in as team mentor in late 2023 after two seasons guiding Lucknow, before stepping up as India’s head coach last July. His departure left Pandit sharing tactical duties with mentor Dwayne Bravo and bowling coach Bharat Arun. The committee struggled to settle on a first-choice XI this year; six separate opening pairs and repeated middle-order rejigs never quite clicked.
What next for Pandit? Word from Indore is that he is likely to carry on as director of cricket at Madhya Pradesh, the role he has juggled alongside IPL duties. A return to the Indian domestic circuit, where his no-nonsense streak is widely celebrated, feels logical.
KKR, meanwhile, must decide whether to promote from within or look externally. Abhishek Nayar, back on staff after a short stint as India assistant coach, appears the in-house favourite. Nayar knows the franchise well – he was there from 2018 through the 2024 title – and is respected by the current leadership group. One senior player described him this week as “the glue who understands modern T20 without forgetting the human bit”.
If Nayar steps up, the Knight Riders still need fresh back-room voices. A batting consultant could lighten his load, and the analytics unit may also expand, reflecting how positively data-driven decision-making influenced 2024’s success.
For now, the club prefers to market the change as orderly rather than reactive. Franchise officials point to the timing – two months before the mini-auction – as evidence of clear planning. Yet supporters will recall similar language after McCullum’s exit, so the proof will arrive only on next spring’s points table.
Pandit leaves with a 24-22 win-loss record and the 2024 trophy in his pocket – an achievement that should not be glossed over. A harsh final season does little to erase the memory of that night in Chennai when the Knight Riders, written off at halfway, stormed past Rajasthan to lift the silverware. As one long-time member of the coaching staff put it: “He may be old-school, but he delivered the big one.”
