Kolkata Knight Riders appoint Ottis Gibson as assistant coach

Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Ottis Gibson and team mentor Dwayne Bravo

Kolkata Knight Riders announced Ottis Gibson as assistant coach ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. 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.

Ottis joins a strong support staff unit at KKR, comprising mentor Dwayne Bravo, head coach Chandrakant Pandit, bowling coach Bharat Arun, spin-bowling coach Carl Crowe and others.

The franchise recently announced Ajinkya Rahane as the skipper for the upcoming season. KKR and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will kick-off the cash-rich league on March 22 at the former's home venue Eden Gardens. Rahane will be spending his second stint with the franchise having first played for the franchise in the 2022 edition.

"It’s an honour to be asked to lead KKR, which has been one of the most successful franchises in the IPL. I think we have an excellent and balanced squad. I look forward to working with everyone and taking up the challenge of defending our title,” said Rahane reflecting his thoughts on the new role.

Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer, who stunned most with his demand after KKR repurchased the all-rounder for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore at the auction, has been named the team's vice-captain.

KKR and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will kick-off the cash-rich league on March 22 at the former's home venue Eden Gardens.