Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) haven’t found the same groove this season that saw them lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) title last term. The franchise only has three wins in nine matches, placing them 7th in the points table, in a bit of flux over playoff qualification. Even the team’s pacer Harshit Rana said that the team doesn’t have the same ‘thrill’ as it did in the last campaign when Gautam Gambhir was with the support staff. The situation, hence, raises many questions on the role of head coach Chandrakant Pandit, whose management style hasn’t gone down well with multiple players.

As per a report by RevSportz, Pandit even had a bit of a clash with an overseas player at KKR as he decided to ‘dine’ with a rival team player. But what Pandit completely ignored is the fact that the ‘rival player’ was the overseas star’s teammate on the national side.

KKR did make changes to their coaching setup after Gautam Gambhir decided to leave for the Indian national team job, taking assistant coach Abhishek Nayar with him too. After Nayar’s sacking from the national team, KKR were quick to rope him back into the side again. Since his return to the Knight Riders, Nayar has been working closely with the players.

Last year, after KKR’s title triumph in IPL 2024, many players publicly expressed their admiration for Gambhir and Nayar, lauding the way they groomed the players and supported them. But, not many words of appreciation came for Chandrakant Pandit.

The situation, hence, raises many questions over Pandi, under whom the Madhya Pradesh team won its first-ever Ranji Trophy title in 2022.

What Gambhir did with KKR, no other coach or mentor has managed to replicate. Harshit Rana hinted at the same in a press conference on Monday.

“I won’t say that because the composition of our support staff is basically the same (from last year). (Abhishek) Nayar Bhai has also come back. Chandu Sir, (Dwayne) Bravo are all good. But yes, there is this thrill factor which I miss a little. I am not talking about anyone else,” Harshit Rana said ahead of the match against Delhi Capitals.

“You also know that Gambhir has an aura, the way he comes and takes the team along. I was just talking about that,” he had said.