3 KKR Players That Can Follow Chandrakant Pandit After His Ouster

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) removed Chandrakant Pandit after a bad Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season where the team won five and lost seven games, finishing in the eighth position, having won the league in 2024. 

In 2024, though, there was Gautam Gambhir as mentor of the side alongside Pandit as head coach. A few of the players that were there in 2024, along with captain Shreyas Iyer, also left ahead of the 2025 season. 

Now, with the coach being ousted, there is a strong possibility that some other players might follow his lead. Here are three such KKR players who can follow Pandit out of the team.

Venkatesh Iyer 

Venkatesh Iyer joined the KKR franchise in 2021. He had a great season to start with. But the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder reached a great level in seasons 2023 and 2024 when his former MP coach was at the helm of KKR. Pandit started his tenure in 2023 and in the next two seasons, i.e. 2023 and 2024, Venkatesh scored 404 and 370 runs respectively. 

But just as Pandit’s stars did not align in the 2025 season, Venkatesh too had to bear the blemish of being paid INR 23.75 Cr and yet not performing according to the expectations. He scored only 142 runs at an average of 20. 

With his coach leaving the franchise, Venkatesh, too, might be headed to a different destination. Also, KKR themselves might want to free up INR 23.75 Cr and release the all-rounder.

Ajinkya Rahane 

Chandrakant Pandit, in his playing days, was a crucial member of the Mumbai cricket team. As a coach, he won them in consecutive seasons in 2002-03 and 2003-04. In 2015-16, he returned to win another season. 

Ajinkya Rahane has also been a key member of Mumbai cricket, and it is most certain that Pandit was behind Rahane’s signing as KKR captain. It would not be surprising if KKR let go of him as well ahead of the new season. 

Though Rahane was the best batter for the Knight Riders, scoring 390 runs, his captaincy did not impress.

Vaibhav Arora

Himachal Pradesh speedster Vaibhav Arora made his KKR debut with Pandit taking charge in 2023. He played five games that season, but went on to play 10 and 12 games in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, respectively, showcasing that his growth at the franchise aligned with Pandit’s increasing influence. 

He was even bought back in the IPL 2025 mega auction by the Pandit-led management for INR 1.8 Cr, after they were unable to retain him in 2024 due to number constraints. Therefore, one might see the 27-year-old pacer searching for another team, now that Pandit is gone.

With 17 wickets in 12 games in IPL 2025, there will be many takers for the speed merchant from Himachal.