Jacques Kallis and Australia legend approached by KKR for mentorship role

Former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis is in contention to take over the major coaching role for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL). As per Sangbad Pratidin, it is learned that the franchise is in talks with Kallis for the mentorship role ahead of the mega auction.

Jacques Kallis played a vital role for Kolkata Knight Riders as a player and was one of the reasons behind the team winning the title. The former South Africa all-rounder has been part of the franchise earlier as well in the coaching setup.

Jacques Kallis was the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2015 and was appointed into the role when Trevor Bayliss resigned to take over as head coach of the England National Cricket Team. He was also the batting consultant of the team in the same year and did a decent job for the side.

Kolkata Knight Riders also might approach Ricky Ponting after Jacques Kallis

The reports also claimed that Kolkata Knight Riders might look for Ricky Ponting to join the team. The former Australian National Cricket Team skipper was recently sacked as the head coach of the Delhi Capitals after the team's poor performances in the last few seasons.

Ricky Ponting recently also expressed his desire to coach another team in the Indian Premier League. He also had his moments as the coach of the Delhi Capitals. Under him, the franchise reached their first-ever final in 2020 before losing to Mumbai Indians.

Ponting, who is touted as the sharpest cricketing mind, recently won the title as a coach in the Major League Cricket. He also was the coach of the Australia team a few years ago, and his addition to the Kolkata Knight Riders team would surely be a major boost for the team next year.

Kolkata Knight Riders require coaches and mentors ahead of the IPL. Gautam Gambhir, who was the mentor of the team last year, was appointed as the head coach of the Indian National Cricket Team. This came after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended after the T20 World Cup 2024, which India won.

Not only was Gautam Gambhir left the Kolkata Knight Riders, but also assistant coach of the franchise, Abhishek Nayar, along with fielding coaching Ryan ten Doeschate, also left the team. They joined Gambhir's support staff at the India National Cricket Team.

There were reports which claimed that the franchise had also approached Kumar Sangakkara to take up the mentor role. It was learned that the director of cricket at Rajasthan Royals wants to explore options at other franchises, and he is in advance talks with the franchise. Howver, he was retained by RR in the same role.

Whosoever joins the franchise will be joining Chandrakant Pandit, who is the head coach, and Bharat Arun, who is the bowling coach. Kolkata Knight Riders are defending champions after they displayed a dominant performance in 2024 and would want to carry on their good form next year and lift their 4th title.