Kolkata, March 8 Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have announced former West Indies fast bowler Ottis Gibson will join the team as an assistant coach ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League season.
A former fast bowler from Barbados himself, with over 650 first-class wickets to his name, Ottis represented West Indies in both Tests and ODIs from 1995-1999 before embarking on his journey as a coach. He comes with extensive experience, having had two stints as bowling coach of the England Cricket Team - from 2007-10 and again from 2015-17.
He served as head coach of the West Indies from 2010-14. During his tenure, the team won its first ICC World T20 title, in 2012 in Sri Lanka. He went on to become Head coach of the South African team from 2017-2019, and has since held several coaching positions across the T20 franchise circuit.
KKR have undergone several changes ahead of the 2025 season, both in their squad and coaching staff. Last year’s title-winning captain, Shreyas Iyer, was released before the mega auction and later acquired by Punjab Kings, where he was named skipper. In his absence, KKR has appointed Ajinkya Rahane as captain, with Venkatesh Iyer serving as his deputy.
In the support staff, Gautam Gambhir’s departure after IPL 2024 to take over as India’s head coach led to the appointment of Dwayne Bravo as the team's mentor. However, the rest of the coaching setup remains largely unchanged, with Chandrakant Pandit continuing as head coach, alongside Bharat Arun, Carl Crowe, Nathan Leamon, and others.
KKR is set to kick off their IPL 2025 campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Eden Gardens on March 22.
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