Legendary coach Chandrakant Pandit has been appointed the new head coach of two-time Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. Pandit has achieved great success in domestic cricket as coach and has been referred to as ‘Dronacharya of Indian Domestic Cricket’. Under his guidance, Madhya Pradesh won their maiden Ranji Trophy title this year as they outclassed 41-time Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai by six wickets in the final.
He had already won the national championship multiple times with Mumbai and Vidarbha but winning with MP was a bit more special for him. Pandit lost the Ranji Trophy title as MP captain in 1998/99. 23 years later, on Sunday, life indeed came a full circle for Pandit when under his coaching, Madhya Pradesh win Ranji Trophy for the first time.
In his playing career, Pandit was a part of India’s squad for the 1987 World Cup and represented Mumbai, Assam and Madhya Pradesh in the domestic cricket circuit, winning Ranji Trophy twice as a player.
The 60-year-old Pandit played five Tests and 36 ODIs for India between mid-’80s to early ’90s. The wicketkeeper batter scored 171 runs in Test cricket, while ending up with 290.
Known to work wonders with unheralded domestic teams, this will be the former India wicketkeeper’s first big assignment at the elite level.
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After guiding MP to title win, Pandit was asked about his ambitions of coaching an IPL franchise in future.
Does it bother the former India wicketkeeper-batter? “Agar phone karunga, toh kuch mil jayega par who mera style kabi thaa nahi (If I call (any IPL teams), I will get something but that’s not my style)," he had told PTI.
“I met Mr Shah Rukh Khan back then but somehow I couldn’t bring myself to work under a foreign coach," he had said on that day.
On Wednesday, the legendary coach was elated after joining the two-time IPL champions and talked about the family culture of the franchise which he has heard from others.
“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 set up and I am looking forward to this opportunity with all humility and positive expectations," Pandit said after the appointment as per quoted by KKR.
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