In preparation for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named Ottis Gibson as their assistant coach. On Saturday, March 8, the reigning champions officially announced Gibson’s selection to the role. He will now play a key role in the coaching team led by Chandrakant Pandit, a seasoned campaigner.
Ottis Gibson has a strong background in a variety of coaching roles throughout his career.
In the past, he also had a brief stint with Yorkshire County Club, although his overseas stints have been far more robust. When the West Indies won their first T20 World Cup in 2012, he was the head coach. The Windies became one of the most formidable teams in the shortest format during his four-year tenure.
Additionally, Ottis Gibson, 55, was twice the bowling coach for the men’s cricket team from England. In addition, he served as head coach of South Africa from 2017 to 2019 and briefly as fast bowling coach of the Bangladesh men’s squad beginning in January 2020. As a result, his future time with KKR will undoubtedly enhance his resume, and he will want to do everything in his power to help the club win the championship.
In the tournament opener, KKR takes against RCB.
On Saturday, March 22, the three-time champions will play their first IPL match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. After the captains of the last edition left their respective teams, both teams have recruited a new leader. The Knight Riders will be led by Ajinkya Rahane, and Bengaluru’s captain will be Rajat Patidar, who was born in Madhya Pradesh.
Venkatesh Iyer, who won an incredible INR 23.75 crore in the November mega auction, is Rahane’s new deputy. KKR has expertise in the form of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in addition to the top unit. Over the years, Kolkata has become the home of the seasoned Caribbean all-rounders who have become as the franchise’s poster boys.
KKR’s IPL 2025 squad and coaching staff
Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Spencer Johnson, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy
Coaching Staff: Carl Crowe, Ottis Gibson, Bharat Arun, Dwayne Bravo, and Chandrakant Pandit
India
