McCullum left at the end of last season and took his theories to England’s Test set-up where the New Zealander's methods got a name—'Bazball'. While KKR showed that those methods work, they never could maximize the gains.

KKR after finishing seventh in the last edition—their joint-second worst finish in the Indian Premier League (IPL)—are banking on domestic stalwart Chandrakant Pandit to bring back the glory days.

Like McCullum, Pandit too wants his teams to hard cricket, never drop their shoulders. He has tried to instill Mumbai’s ‘khadoos’ attitude in the teams he has coached. After how KKR have performed over the last few seasons, they will definitely like to embrace the ‘Pandit Way’.

In eight seasons—from 2011 to 2018—KKR won two titles and only missed out on the play-off spot twice. But since 2019 they have been in the playoffs only once.

Pandit may be a novice when it comes to the wild world of IPL but one thing many can vouch for is that when it comes to strategy, he is one of the best in the business.

The former-India wicketkeeper brings to KKR almost 20 years of coaching experience in the domestic set-up to go with the six Ranji Trophy titles.

Pandit isn’t burdening himself by thinking too much about the future. As he has done in the Ranji Trophy, he would like discipline to be KKR's calling card.

“One has to work according to the demands of the game, the format,” said Pandit when quizzed about coaching in domestic tournaments versus coaching in the IPL.

“In T20, you don’t get time to recover. So, you have to be perfect with your strategy, and planning. I’m sure it won’t be that difficult (to achieve) with quality players (in KKR). The domestic players have international experience, foreign players also come in with vast experience. The game changer is maybe... two balls or one over. So, you build your strategy accordingly so that players are ready for that moment,” said Pandit.

His first task will be to get the house in order. As the 2022 season progressed, KKR withered away. So frustrated was skipper Shreyas Iyer at one point that he openly said that the constant “chopping and changing” isn’t helping the team. He also hinted at interference in the team's selection policy.

Pandit is relishing the challenge. “One cannot deny that every opportunity is challenging too. It’s a great opportunity to be the head coach of a team like KKR. Pressure is everywhere in game of cricket. One needs to adapt quickly,” he said.

One thing that will work in Pandit’s favour when he enters the KKR set-up is that he knows most of the domestic backroom staff as well as the players. KKR’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has based his coaching principles on what he learnt from Pandit when he was the Mumbai coach. The likes of Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer have played under him so know what exactly to expect from him and vice-versa.

“It’s always an advantage (to work with people you know). They understand (what I bring) and more than understanding, one needs to build a rapport. Trust you show in them makes things easy as well. Been the local man and having watched those players over the years, to build that rapport and to develop that bond isn’t difficult,” said Pandit, who will surely be an asset to KKR during the auction as well having watched a number of players across the length and breadth of the country over the years.

Another task for Pandit will be to make international stars believe in his strategies and also make sure that the discipline is maintained. “International players have different way of approaching the game. Their experience makes it much easier. It is not that you have to spend lot of time with them but it’s about having a healthy relationship and that will always help.”