Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders recently appointed domestic cricket legend Chandrakant Pandit as their head coach. In reality, former New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum has now become the manager of the England Test team. In such a situation, he had left the head coach of KKR.
Chandrakant Pandit has a reputation for being a disciplined coach, but the veteran national coach knows he needs to revamp his coaching system when stars like Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Pat Cummins play him in the upcoming Indian Premier League season. .
The 60-year-old former Indian wicket-keeper batsman, Pandit, who has been appointed head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL season 16, is ready to transform if the need arises. “You don’t need to use the same method everywhere. You have to be a bit flexible trying to understand the mentality of each player, which is very important,” Pandit said in an interview with the PTI news agency.
He also said that I always do this (study the players) and consequently we can understand things and move forward. Pandit said he doesn’t use a one-size-fits-all approach to training. He doesn’t hesitate to admit that some of the top players like Russell and Cummins are very experienced and will never use their Ranji Trophy methods at the IPL level.
Pandit further said that these are experienced players. They have been playing at the highest level for so many years and you certainly cannot use the same method at every level. You have to understand and study their methods and make sure that the demand for cricket takes precedence over anything else.
The state associations that approach Pandit at the national level have always known that if you want his services, you must give him complete freedom to work, but it will be possible at the IPL level.
Pandit said: “I don’t know what my image is, but I understand that a head coach’s job is to take things in such a way that they are results-oriented. I don’t know how people see my ways, but I will try to take the opportunity. that I have been given the best I can,” he said.
Former Mumbai legend Abhishek Nair is one of the key members of the KKR think tank and captain Shreyas Iyer is also from Mumbai. By the way, Pandit has trained both of them at different points in their careers.
“It’s always an advantage that you have players in your structure that you’ve spent time with and certainly the synergy that we’ve maintained over the years,” Pandit said.
He said, KKR has Umesh Yadav who has played under me in Vidarbha and Venkatesh Iyer who is an important member from Madhya Pradesh. I know all these guys personally..
Pandit, who has six Ranji Trophy titles as a coach, said: “You have Abhishek (Nair) and Omkar Salvi (support staff) who have played under me. Their presence would be beneficial.
Pandit had revealed that he once met KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan during the early years of the IPL, but things didn’t work out then.
This time, when KKR CEO Venky Mysore offered him the position of head coach, he didn’t have to think twice. Pandit said, “Yes, I got the offer after the Ranji Trophy final. It didn’t work out last time. It’s an honor to be a part of this franchise.