Ganguly back as KKR captain, Whatmore to coach

New Delhi:

Kolkata Knight Riders re-appointed Sourav Ganguly as its captain on Friday and Dav Whatmore, who recently quit from the post of director of operations at National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, was declared the coach.

The decision to appoint a new coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders has been a much anticipated and speculated announcement but it was Whatmore, who was finally decided for the controversial post.

"I am optimistic about the season ahead and have the utmost faith in Sourav, the team, and KKR Management and look forward to a successful tournament. I will be working closely with the team to continue building KKR into a successful franchise both on and off field", said Whatmore.

The KKR management held several meetings over the past few weeks to discuss and plan the way forward for the franchise and the team.

Sourav Ganguly played a major role, whose experience and knowledge were key factors in the entire vision and decision-making process for the season ahead.

On his appointment, Ganguly said, "KKR is looking forward to an exciting and successful season ahead with the new appointments and strategies in place. I am excited at the prospect of working with Dav and the entire team closely in addition to playing at our home ground once again".

On being elected as captain of KKR, Ganguly said, "It's a good feeling. It's a responsibility. No matter who is the captain, we have to play well and perform well."

"I don't think there are too many strategies for this game. we just need to go and play. We just need to execute in the middle. That's what we need to do. I am not great believer in strategies, I believe on performance", said the former India skipper.

Ganguly also praised the newly appointed KKR coach.

"Dave is a nice man. He has been in sub continent for good 10 years now or probably more. He was part of Sri Lankan cricket for long, then with Bangladesh. So he is pretty much an Indian man."

Dav will be supported in his new role by Vijay Dahiya as Assistant Coach and Wasim Akram as mentor.

Andrew Leipus and Adrian le Roux have been appointed Physiotherapist and Team Trainer respectively.

When asked about the decision, The Management was very clear on their unanimous choice: "Dav has the right vision not only for the team, but for each of the players, and for the franchise as a whole. He is very aware of our current position in IPL and knows that there is only one way to go now - up" said Jay Mehta, co-owner of KKR.