Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the third-most successful team in the history of the Indian Premier League. The Knight Riders won two titles under the then-captaincy of Gautam Gambhir in the IPL 2012 and 2014 seasons.
During the IPL 2012 season, KKR made it all the way to the finals of the competition and defeated Chennai Super Kings to win their first title. In IPL 2014 season, KKR defeated Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the final to win their second title.
Since then, it has been a series of ups and downs for the franchise. KKR made it to the final for the third time in the IPL 2021 season but lost to Chennai Super Kings in the high-voltage encounter.
Case in point, the Kolkata Knight Riders have had players who went on to make a name for themselves even after ending their playing careers for the franchise. In this article, let’s take a glimpse at the two players from KKR’s IPL 2008 squad who are now coaches.
1. Ricky Ponting
Kolkata Knight Riders recruited the services of Ricky Ponting in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. However, he was with the KKR franchise for just one season. His next IPL stint came at a different franchise as he shifted his base to Mumbai Indians in IPL 2013 season.
Mumbai Indians appointed Ricky Ponting as the coaching staff in IPL 2015 season and under his tutelage, Mumbai Indians won the title. He was part of the coaching staff till IPL 2016 season. After that, he joined Delhi Capitals as the head coach where he guided the team to the finals in IPL 2020 season.
2. Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum was one of the integral players for KKR. He set the IPL on fire with his stunning unbeaten 158 on the opening day. The former New Zealand cricketer had two different stints with the KKR before taking up the role of the head coach in the IPL 2019 season.
He served as the head coach of KKR’s sister franchise named Trinbago Knight Riders where he led the team to their fourth CPL title in 2020. In the subsequent season, he missed the CPL owing to personal reasons. Currently, Brendon McCullum is serving as the head coach of England’s Test team.
