India's iconic domestic coach Chandrakant Pandit has been appointed as the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The franchise announced this on Wednesday. Pandit will replace Brendon McCullum who is now the head coach of the England Test team.

Under the guidance of Chandrakant Pandit, one of the most iconic coaches in the Indian domestic circuit, Madhya Pradesh recently won its maiden Ranji Trophy title. Earlier, he has won national championships several times with Mumbai and Vidarbha. This will be Pandit's first major responsibility at the top level, the former India wicket-keeper batsman, known for his stellar work with the domestic teams.

KKR CEO Venky Mysore said in a statement, “We are extremely excited that Chandu (Chandrakant Pandit) is joining the Knight Riders family to lead us on the next leg of our journey. He said, his deep commitment towards what he does and his record of success in domestic cricket is in front of everyone. We are looking forward to his good partnership with our captain Shreyas Iyer.

Accepting the new challenge, Pandit said, "I have heard about the family culture and tradition of success here from players and others who have been associated with Knight Riders. "I am excited about the level of support staff and the players who have been a part of the team and I look forward to working with utmost humility and positive expectations," he said.

The 60-year-old Pandit played five Tests and 36 ODIs for India from the mid-80s to the early 90s. Pandit had said that he once had a meeting with one of the owners of KKR, Shah Rukh Khan, in the early years of the IPL but then made it clear that he was not interested in joining the support staff as an assistant coach.