Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is set to succeed Gautam Gambhir as the mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As per a report in The Telegraph, discussions are currently underway between the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise and Sangakkara regarding the role.

The position has been available following Gambhir’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Gambhir, who took over from Rahul Dravid, stepped into the Indian team role after the national side’s T20 World Cup triumph.

Gambhir, who served as Lucknow Super Giants mentor for the 2022 and 2023 IPL seasons, joined the KKR ahead of the 2024 campaign.

His addition proved successful with the team securing their third IPL title. Gambhir had previously led KKR to two of their title wins during his captaincy.

Sangakkara, the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals since 2021, will reportedly leave the job as a result. This decision comes on the heels of the team appointing Rahul Dravid as their head coach for the 2025 IPL season.

According to reports, Vikram Rathour, who was part of Rahul Dravid’s coaching staff with India, will also be joining RR as a coaching staff member. While an official announcement is pending, it is expected that these changes will take place shortly.

KKR have been in the need of a coaching overhaul with Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar joining the national team setup. Additionally, Ryan ten Doeschate has joined Gambhir’s support staff as the fielding coach.

Source: Firstpost
--Agencies