Chandrakant Pandit Parts Ways With KKR After Disappointing IPL 2025

The Kolkata Knight Riders have officially announced the departure of head coach Chandrakant Pandit after a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign that saw the team slump to eighth place in the standings. It’s a stark contrast to just a year ago when Pandit guided KKR to their third IPL title in 2024.

The franchise confirmed the news with a statement on social media, saying, "Mr. 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 IPL Championship in 2024 and helping build a strong, resilient squad. His leadership and discipline have left a lasting impact on the team. We wish him all the very best for the future." 

KKR endured a tough season under Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy, winning just five of their 14 games. The eighth-place finish matched their worst-ever result in IPL history and quickly sparked questions about Pandit’s future. With the dust now settled, the speculation has ended, and KKR will move forward without him. 

Pandit, who joined KKR in August 2022 ahead of the 2023 season, was initially hailed for his ability to instill discipline and structure. The results came through in 2024 when the team lifted the trophy. However, much of the spotlight during that successful campaign was directed toward Gautam Gambhir, who served as the team’s mentor at the time. Gambhir left last year to take over as India’s head coach, leaving Pandit in charge with support from Dwayne Bravo and bowling coach Bharat Arun. 

But things didn’t click this year. Reports of Pandit’s strict methods had surfaced earlier, with former KKR all-rounder David Wiese shedding light on the challenges of his coaching style in franchise cricket. Speaking on the Hitman for Hire podcast, Wiese said, "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 have 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." 

With Pandit gone, KKR’s support staff is now led by mentor Bravo, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, and Ottis Gibson, who all remain part of the setup. Nayar, who had been with the franchise from 2018 to 2024, rejoined midway through this season, while Bravo and Gibson were added ahead of IPL 2025. 

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