Gautam Gambhir's departure from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has left a massive void in the coaching staff of the reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions. (More Cricket News)
Gambhir acted as the mentor of the franchise with Chandrakant Pandit at helm as the head coach. While Pandit stays with KKR, Gambhir has moved on to the Indian team as the head coach. Gambhir has also taken with himself Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate, two key members of the KKR coaching staff, to the Indian team.
This has led to the defending champions looking for options to shore up their coaching staff.
As per a report in Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis have been shortlisted by the franchise in a bid to replace Gambhir.
Both Ponting and Kallis have represented KKR but the South African managed to win two trophies with the franchise in a highly-successful stint under Gambhir. Kallis was also with the franchise as a batting consultant in the 2015 season and then as the head coach in the next season.
Due to his long association with franchise, Kallis reportedly remains the frontrunner for the job.
Ponting, who left his head coach role at the Delhi Capitals recently, is also one of the contenders to join KKR. Kumar Sangakkara too was in contention. However, reports suggest the Sri Lankan great will stay at the Rajasthan Royals in his role of Director of Cricket.
Kolkata Knight Riders won their first IPL trophy in a decade last season but with the majority of their coaching staff shifting to the Indian team, it will need a big overhaul. The franchise would like to finalise the staff before the mega auction that is set to take place ahead of the next IPL season.
