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Chandu Pandit Leaves KKR; 3 Teams Which Should Target Him As Head Coach For IPL 2026

Abhinav Tyagi

Chandrakant Pandit - (Source : @Johns/X.com)Chandrakant Pandit - (Source : @Johns/X.com)

On Tuesday, July 29, Kolkata Knight Riders made a significant change to their coaching set-up as the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side parted ways with head coach Chandrakant Pandit after three years. 

Notably, Pandit joined the Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2023 and coached the Ajinkya Rahane-led side for three seasons. Under Pandit, KKR finished seventh in the maiden season, but bounced back in his second year and helped the Knight Riders end their 10-year-long trophy drought after winning the title in 2024. 

However, things went downhill in the recently concluded season as the Rahane-led side finished 8th. It led to the Knight Riders' parting ways. Now, with Pandit looking for new opportunities, this article will look at three teams that will benefit from roping in the 63-year-old.

1. Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants debuted in the IPL in 2022. The Rishabh Pant-led side have reached the playoffs but failed to lift the trophy or even get to the finals of the cash-studded league. 

In the four seasons, Lucknow have had two coaches. Earlier, Andy Flower helped the Giants reach the playoffs twice, but he moved to RCB and made them end the trophy drought. Further, Justin Langer came in to sort things for the Sanjiv Goenka-owned franchise.

Things are not going well for LSG, as there were reports that the top brass is not happy with Langer and are looking to sack him before the start of the new season. Notably, under the Australia-based cricketer, LSG finished seventh in 2024 and 2025. 

Thus, in case of a sacking, Pandit can be a great hire for the Super Giants as the 63-year-old can better relate to young talent, and there will be no language barrier as well. 

2. Sunrisers Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad are also looking for their second IPL win, and the team came close in 2024 when the Men in Orange reached the finals, but lost against Pandit's KKR. 

It was Daniel Vettori's first season as head coach, and the ultra-aggressive approach took the opponents by surprise. However, the same strategy looked clueless in the recently concluded season when SRH finished sixth.

It seems that the Men in Orange need to make a few changes to their strategies and bring in an Indian coach, one of the calibre of Chandrakant Pandit, who can solve things for the Sunrisers. 

3. Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals had a very difficult IPL season, and it seemed that the inaugural winners lost the plot during the auction table. Notably, RR released the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Jos Buttler, and Trent Boult, who all went onto do well for their respective new teams. 

Rajasthan witnessed one of the worst downgrades in the squad strength, which also reflected in their season. Notably, the Sanju Samson-led side finished ninth on the table with just four wins in the tournament. 

A lot of fingers were raised on coach Rahul Dravid, and despite the stature of the big man, RR shouldn't hesitate in bringing in Pandit for the better of the franchise. 

The reason why Chandrakant can be a great pick for the Royals is because of his knack for making average squad challenge for the titles, which also happened with KKR in 2024.