The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have officially parted ways with head coach Chandrakant Pandit and bowling coach Bharat Arun following an underwhelming IPL 2025 season. The decision was made mutually, ending a three-year tenure for both coaches who played pivotal roles in the franchise’s recent history.
Pandit, one of the most decorated coaches in Indian domestic cricket, took charge in 2023, while Arun, India’s former national bowling coach, joined the franchise a year earlier in 2022.
Though the pair was instrumental in guiding KKR to their third IPL title in 2024, the team faltered in the 2025 edition, finishing eighth in the standings with only five wins in 14 matches. Their playoff hopes were dashed after a rain-affected game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
KKR shared a heartfelt message on social media, saying:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 [𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕’𝒔] 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 – 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑲𝑲𝑹 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑨 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒏 2024… 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎.”
Internal Issues and KKR Coaching Restructure on the Cards
The 2025 season was plagued with inconsistency, missed opportunities, and reports of unrest in the dressing room. Pandit’s strict coaching approach was said to have clashed with a few players, including an overseas star and his international teammate, which made headlines during the tournament.
Despite these setbacks, Pandit helped identify and develop promising talents like Rinku Singh and Harshit Rana, while Varun Chakravarthy returned to the Indian setup under his leadership.
Bharat Arun was instrumental in improving KKR’s bowling arsenal, but with his departure, rumors have linked him to a coaching role at Chennai Super Kings — claims the CSK management has so far denied.
In the wake of these exits, KKR is expected to overhaul its coaching staff. Abhishek Nayar, the current assistant coach, is a frontrunner to assume greater responsibilities. Former KKR skipper Eoin Morgan is also being considered for a strategic role.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔,” 𝒂 𝑲𝑲𝑹 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂, 𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆’𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑.
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