My becoming KKR coach will motivate other Indian coaches: Chandrakant Pandit

Kolkata Knight Riders. Having won the Ranji Trophy as a coach six times, the former stumper, known for his no-nonsense, tough-as-nails approach, faces an altogether new challenge. Having just taken over the reigns of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise, the ‘Alex Ferguson of Ranji Trophy,’ as Dinesh Karthik put it, is ready for clearly what is the biggest challenge of his coaching career so far. The new KKR coach gave an exclusive interview to TOI. Excerpts …

What was your first reaction when you got the new role? Did you see it as a reward after all these years coaching in domestic cricket?I was obviously happy. I wouldn’t say it’s a reward for what I have achieved in domestic cricket. Whenever the opportunity comes to you, you always like it. I was very happy because it came from KKR, one of the leading IPL franchises. Having known so many players in KKR, it made me very happy and excited to work with them. It's a very happy moment for any coach to work with a big franchise like KKR. Knowing the culture of the team, the feedback I'm getting, the support staff I'm getting, I'm very excited with all of it. Have you had any interactions with Brendon McCullum, who was the head coach of KKR for the past three years to get some feedback on the side?No, I haven’t done that yet, but of course, I would like to get feedback from everyone. He’s a coach who worked so hard in building the team and naturally I’d love to get the feedback from him. Even the (KKR) support staff has been outstanding. Getting feedback from everyone is only going to help us moving forward. Do you feel Indian coaches are beginning to impress IPL franchises? You’re the third Indian head coach in the IPL after Ashish Nehra and Sanjay Bangar?That is the