Tim Southee officially appointed as new KKR bowling coach
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KKR have announced the signing of their former pacer Tim Southee as their bowling coach for the upcoming season of IPL. The former New Zealand pacer is no stranger to the Knight Riders.
Every team is on the up to declare their final retained squad or to finalize a trade deal ahead of the mini-auction, but Kolkata Knight Riders have seemingly been running an entirely different show. They are focused on bringing in new management ahead of the retention dates.
The defending champions of IPL 2024 finished eighth in the IPL 2025 points table after having won just five matches in the season. They are likely to retain only Dwayne Bravo as the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
KKR bring Tim Southee on board as bowling coach for next season
The Knight Riders started making changes to their team management by replacing Chandrakant Pandit with Abhishek Nayar, the former Team India Assistant coach. Shane Watson was also announced as Abhishek Nayar's deputy by the Knight Riders.
Now, in another announcement, they have confirmed Tim Southee as the KKR bowling coach for the upcoming season of 2026. The Kiwi legend played over 300 games across all formats and bagged over 700 scalps before announcing his international retirement in 2025.
Southee played for KKR between 2021 and 2023 and was part of the Eoin Morgan-led side that played the IPL 2021 final against CSK. He has played for several other franchises in the IPL, like the Chennai Super Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Venky Mysore and Southee state the appointment for IPL 2026
“We are delighted to welcome Tim Southee back to the KKR family, this time in a coaching capacity. Tim’s vast experience and technical expertise will be instrumental in shaping our bowling unit. His leadership qualities and calm approach make him an ideal mentor for our young bowlers,” said the KKR CEO Venky Mysore on the appointment of Tim Southee.
“KKR has always felt like home to me, and it’s an honour to return in this new role. The franchise has an incredible culture, passionate fans, and a great group of players. I look forward to working closely with the bowlers and helping the team achieve success in IPL 2026,” expressed Southee on his excitement about returning to the franchise.
Tim Southee IPL Stats
New Zealand great bowler Tim Southee has played franchise cricket throughout his career. The 36-year-old cricketer announced his retirement from Test cricket at the start of the 2025 season. He recently served as the bowling coach of the England National Cricket Team and will part ways with them ahead of the second Ashes Test.
He will be playing the ILT20 and is still actively participating in franchise cricket. Southee's IPL debut came back in 2011, and he played his last season in 2023 for the KKR. With 47 wickets in his IPL career, his best season came with KKR in 2022, when he played 9 matches with them and picked 14 wickets.
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