File photo of Gautam Gambhir (R)© X (formerly Twitter)
Gautam Gambhir was appointed the new Indian cricket team head coach with Rahul Dravid‘s tenure coming to an end following the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. Gambhir was the frontrunner to succeed Dravid for quite some time and his first assignment as head coach will be the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, the appointment meant that Kolkata Knight Riders lost their mentor under whom they clinched the IPL 2024 title. There have been multiple reports that assistant coach Abhishek Nayar can join Gambhir in the Team India coaching staff and as a result, KKR are looking to revamp their coaching staff for the 2025 season. While Dravid was rumoured to be one of their choices, a report claims that KKR can be looking at legendary South Africa cricketer Jacques Kallis.
Kallis was part of KKR during his playing days and as a player, he won the IPL title in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gambhir. Kallis was also the batting consultant for KKR in the 2015 season and he was appointed head coach after Trevor Bayliss resigned to take over as England head coach.
Kallis was the KKR head coach for four Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons till 2019 when he stepped down from his position and went on to join South Africa cricket team as their batting consultant.
With Gambhir joining the Indian cricket team as head coach, Kallis can make a comeback in the KKR coaching setup and a report by The Telegraph said that his name is doing the rounds right now.
“The franchise is also on the lookout for a replacement for Gambhir, who was key to its third IPL crown this year. The name of legendary South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who had coached KKR in 2019, is also doing the rounds,” the report stated.
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