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What's the story?
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday announced the members of their support staff for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with former South African cricketer, Jacques Kallis, continuing in his role as head coach of the team. He will be ably supported by Simon Katich, who has been named the assistant coach.
In case you didn't know...
Last season, the Kolkata-based franchise had a major reshuffle in the auction. Gautam Gambhir, who had led the side for quite a long time, was released from his duties, while wicket-keeper batsman, Dinesh Karthik, was made the captain of the side. There were also several new faces introduced.
This seemed to do the trick for KKR last season. With 8 wins in 14 games, they finished third on the points table but crashed out in the playoffs after Sunrisers Hyderabad pipped them by 14 runs in the second qualifier.
The heart of the matter
KKR have made some important changes ahead of IPL 2019 as well. Legendary South African all-rounder and former KKR star Kallis has been named the head coach of the franchise, with Simon Katich serving as his assistant and Abishekh Nayar as a mentor.
Apart from them, Omkar Salvi, Carl Crowe and Andrew Leipus have been given the roles of bowling coach, spin bowling coach and physio respectively.
The list containing the members of the support staff was unveiled by KKR CEO, Venky Mysore, on his official Twitter handle earlier today. Here is the complete list:
What's next?
Kolkata punched above their weight last season, making it to the playoffs, and the Dinesh Karthik-led side would be aiming to go one step further this year. They will open their account against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 24.
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