In the early days of the Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders were one of the most successful and dominant teams.
KKR lifted the title in 2012 and 2014 but it's been a fallow period ever since, barring an appearance in the 2021 final when they were beaten by the Chennai Super Kings.
This time around, the franchise based at Eden Gardens will feel they have assembled a squad capable of competing for the top prize. Led by captain Shreyas Iyer — who is hoping to recover from a back injury for the latter part of the competition — they also boast the likes of Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and powerful West Indies duo Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
But what about the major change in the coaching dugout? The Sporting News profiles KKR's coach right here...
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Who is the KKR head coach for IPL 2023?
Chandrakant Pandit is the new head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, having taken the main job from Brendon McCullum in August.
McCullum, of course, took the job as England's Test coach in May 2022 and has overseen a revolution alongside Ben Stokes as captain, implementing his 'Bazball' style to terrific effect. England have won 10 out of 12 Tests under McCullum's stewardship — and one of those defeats came by just a single run.
McCullum had been KKR head coach since 2019 but he now hands over the mantle to the man known as 'Chandu'.
"We are very excited that Chandu is joining the Knight Riders family to lead us through the next phase of our journey," KKR CEO Venky Mysore said.
"His deep commitment to what he does and his track record of success in domestic cricket is there for everyone to see."
What is Chandrakant Pandit's coaching record?
Pandit is a former India wicket-keeper who played five Tests and 36 ODIs for his country between 1986 and 1992. He's hugely respected in Indian domestic cricket, having most recently won the Ranji Trophy — India's premier first-class competition — with underdogs Madhya Pradesh. He's also won the Ranji Trophy on five other occasions, with two other teams: Mumbai and Vidarbha.
Pandit helped current KKR captain Iyer progress through the ranks at Mumbai when the batter was emerging as a teenage star. Mysore added: "We are looking forward to his partnership with our skipper Shreyas Iyer which promises to be an exciting one."
He will remain Madhya Pradesh coach despite his IPL commitments.
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Who are KKR's other coaches?
Abhishek Nayar is one of Pandit's assistant coaches at KKR, Bharat Arun is the bowling coach and Omkar Salvi is the franchise's assistant bowling coach.
It was also recently announced that former Essex and Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate had been appointed fielding coach for 2023. He joins his former English domestic cricket teammate James Foster at KKR. Foster has been promoted from that fielding coach role to the position of assistant coach.
Ten Doeschate was a player for KKR earlier in his career, having played a role in their two championship wins in 2012 and 2014, and was described by Mysore as "a genuine supporter of KKR all these years".
He'd been working as batting coach at English county Kent since retiring from playing in 2021.
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