Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is in talks to take over as the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), succeeding Gautam Gambhir. According to a report in The Telegraph, discussions are ongoing between Sangakkara and the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise regarding the role.
The mentor position became vacant following Gambhir’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, a role he took over from Rahul Dravid after India’s T20 World Cup victory. Gambhir, who previously mentored the Lucknow Super Giants during the 2022 and 2023 IPL seasons, joined KKR ahead of the 2024 campaign, leading the team to its third IPL title. Gambhir also captained KKR to two titles during his playing career.
Sangakkara, who has served as the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals since 2021, is expected to step down from his current position to join KKR. This move follows Rajasthan Royals’ appointment of Rahul Dravid as their head coach for the 2025 IPL season. Reports also suggest that Vikram Rathour, who was part of Dravid’s coaching staff with India, will be joining Rajasthan Royals as a coaching staff member.
KKR has been undergoing a coaching overhaul, with Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar joining the national team setup and Ryan ten Doeschate being added to Gambhir’s support staff as the fielding coach. An official announcement regarding these changes is expected soon.
Source: Firstpost
