All not well in KKR? David Wiese opens up on Chandu Pandit’s ‘militant’ coaching style

Former Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder David Wiese has revealed that all was not right in the dressing room during the franchise's struggles last season. The two-time champions finished seventh on the points table and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Speaking on theHitman for Hire: A year in the life of a franchise cricketerpodcast, Wiese said the arrival of new coach Chandrakant Pandit certainly changed the dynamics in the KKR change room.

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"There were certain issues going on behind the scenes in the team. Guys weren't happy with certain things that were going on, and a lot of the times, it was a tough changing room. There was a new coach coming in and he liked to do things a certain way, and that didn't sit well with the players," said Wiese.

Pandit was appointed the KKR coach after enjoying successful stints in Indian domestic circles, having won the Ranji Trophy with Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha. However, Wiese said Pandit's 'militant' style of coaching did not go down well with certain foreign players.

"Guys were frustrated because a lot changed, and the coach brought in things that he thought would bring success. But as an overseas player, they sometimes don't sit well. He's known in India as a fairly militant type of coach, a strict disciplinarian," said Wiese.

"The overseas guys who've played all over the world don't need someone coming in and telling him how to behave and what to wear and what to do. I was chill with it, but there were players more stubborn than me," he added.

CEO picks the XI

Notably, this is not the first instance when reports of struggles within the KKR dressing room have emerged. In 2022, KKRcaptain Shreyas Iyer revealed that CEO Venky Mysore was involved in picking the playing XIs.

“We discuss with the coaches, obviously CEO (Venky Mysore) is also involved in team selection. Especially, Baz (Brendon McCullum) goes to the players and tells them if they are not playing," said Iyer during one of the post-match presentations.

However, in the very next match, Iyer clarified that his statement was misconstrued.

"I want to clarify from the last interview. When I took the CEO's name, I wanted basically to say he's there to console players sitting out. Really tough for us as well when we select the teams," said Iyer.

KKR did not help Kuldeep

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav's childhood coach Kapil Pandey said that KKR did not back the leg-spinner when he was going through a slump.

“The dip started when he was not given a chance by KKR. But he kept working," said Pandey

“Sadly, he was not given a chance again for KKR. I can vividly recall the conversation, he told me ‘Sir, I don’t know what is happening.’ I told him to keep calm, this is cricket, and this sport tests you nine out of the 10 times’. It was challenging for him because he wanted to make a comeback. With no game time, he was not able to show the things he has worked upon,” he added.

After six seasons with KKR, Kuldeep was picked up by Delhi Capitals in 2022 and his performancehasimproved considerably.

(With inputs from agencies)