Kolkata Knight Riders have reportedly decided to sack head coach Chandrakant Pandit and bowling coach Bharat Arun head of IPL 2026. Under Pandit, KKR managed to get to their third title in 2024, following which they finished 8th on the points table in 2025. With Pandit out of the race and Bharat Arun reportedly being considered by CSK, there are high chances of Eoin Morgan, who was KKR’s former skipper, to be named as the new head coach for IPL 2026.
Morgan to be new KKR coach in IPL 2026?
Morgan captained KKR in IPL 2020 and 2021, managing to lead the side to 11 wins out of 24 matches during his tenure. He is the frontrunner to replace Chandrakant Pandit, who happens to be the only second Indian coach after Ashish Nehra to lead an IPL side to a title. After letting go of Shreyas Iyer ahead of IPL 2025 auction, KKR named Ajinkya Rahane as captain after acquiring his services for just Rs 1.5 crores in the mega-auction.
According to The Times of India, Bharat Arun will join the Yellow Army as their bowling coach for IPL 2026. Part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2022 as the bowling coach, Arun has parted ways with the franchise on a mutual agreement. KKR have made it official that they have parted ways with head coach Chandrakanth Pandit, but haven’t confirmed Arun’s departure yet.
KKR coaching staff in IPL 2025
| Role | Name |
| Mentor | Dwayne Bravo |
| Head Coach | Chandrakant Pandit |
| Bowling Coach | Bharathi Arun |
| Spin Bowling Coach | Carl Crowe |
| Physiotherapist | Prasanth Panchada |
| Assistant Physiotherapist | Abhishek Ashok Sawant |
| Massage Therapist | Mahesh Chandrakishor Arya |
| Massage Therapist | Subhajit Das |
| Massage Therapist | Atanu Ghosh |
| Strength and Conditioning Coach | Chris Donaldson |
| Assistant Strength & Conditioning | Sagar VM |
| Analyst | Nathan Leamon |
| Team Manager | Adrian Wayne Bentley |
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