Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has been associated with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, is likely to replace Gautam Gambhir as mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. According to a report in the Telegraph on Thursday (September 5), 2024 IPL champions are in talks with Sangakkara to take over the role of mentor, which is left vacant after Gambhir joined the Indian cricket team as head coach in July 2024.
As per Telegraph sources, Sangakkara, who has been the director of cricket at the Rajasthan Royals since 2021, has decided to part ways with the franchise. He is also considering offers from some other franchises, and any decision on his move to KKR is likely to be reached in the next few days.
Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is all set to become the new head coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and there are reports that former India batting coach Vikram Rathour may also join Dravid at the Royals.
Former Indian cricketer Chandrakant Pandit is the current head coach of KKR in the IPL, and former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun is the bowling coach of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise. But fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar have left the franchise to join the Indian team as assistant coaches.
Sangakkara, who is the second leading run scorer in international cricket, was in a race to become the new white-ball head coach of the England men’s cricket team, but a couple of days ago, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed Brendon McCullum’s appointment for the white-ball side as well, in addition to his existing role as England’s Test head coach.
Sangakkara has produced good results for Rajasthan Royals in IPL in the last three editions. During his tenure, Royals managed to qualify for the IPL final in 2022 under Sanju Samson’s leadership, and in the 2024 edition, the Jaipur-based franchise finished in the No. 3 position in the points table to qualify for the eliminator match, where it managed to get the better of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
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