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Chandrakant Pandit quits as KKR coach before IPL 2026; Knights issue statement: 'Decided to explore new opportunities'
Chandrakant Pandit quits as KKR coach! Here's what the Kolkata Knight Riders had to say in their official statement.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, will have a new head coach in the 2026 edition of the tournament as Chandrakant Pandit has decided to move on from the franchise and explore “new opportunities.” KKR had a poor IPL 2025 campaign as the Ajinkya Rahane-led team finished at the eighth spot in the points table with just 5 wins from 14 matches.
Ever since the season ended, there has been speculation about Chandrakant Pandit's future, and finally, the inevitable has been confirmed. Pandit was roped in as the KKR coach in August 2022 ahead of the IPL 2023 edition.
KKR won the tournament in 2024 under Chandrakant Pandit's tenure. However, Gautam Gambhir, the franchise's mentor, received the bulk of the credit at that time.
“Chandrakant Pandit has decided to explore new opportunities and will not continue as Head Coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. We are thankful for his invaluable contributions - including leading KKR to the TATA IPL Championship in 2024 and helping build a strong, resilient squad. His leadership and discipline have left a lasting impact on the team,” KKR said in their official statement.
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“We wish him all the very best for the future,” the statement added.
In 2022, Chandrakant Pandit took over the role of head coach from Brendon McCullum, who quit after three years. McCullum bid adieu to the franchise after being appointed the head coach of England's Test team.
Pandit's maiden tenure with an IPL team
This was Chandrakant Pandit's maiden IPL stint. He was also KKR's first
Indian head coach as he teamed up with bowling coach Bharat Arun and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Even in his maiden season as coach of KKR, the franchise had failed to make it to the playoffs. The only success came in 2024 when Gambhir was the mentor and Shreyas Iyer was the captain.
In 2025, KKR picked Venkatesh Iyer for a whopping INR 23.75 crore. However, the all-rounder failed to set the stage on fire, disappointing with both bat and ball.
Chandrakant Pandit was believed to be exceptional in getting Venkatesh Iyer on board as he knew him from a long time, having coached him earlier at Madhya Pradesh. Iyer was also appointed vice-captain, with Rahane as the skipper.
However, the campaign in the IPL 2025 went horribly wrong as KKR failed to string together consistent performances.
