IPL: Jacques Kallis steps down as Kolkata Knight Riders head coach

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), on Sunday (July 14), announced that they have parted ways with their head coach Jacques Kallis as well as some other coaching staff. Along with Kallis, the Knight Riders have also decided to end their association with assistant coach Simon Katich. The decision has ended Kallis’ nine-year stint with the franchise as a player and a coach. The former South Africa all-rounder joined the team in 2011 as a player.

In the following season, he helped the Knight Riders win their first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title. The legendary all-rounder scored more than 400 runs and picked up 15 wickets as KKR beat Chennai Super Kings in the final. Two years later, he helped them win the title again. In 2015, Kallis returned to the franchise as their batting consultant before becoming their head coach in October after Trevor Bayliss resigned to take over as England head coach.

Venky Mysore, the CEO of the franchise, acknowledged Kallis’ contribution to the franchise and said that he would always be an integral part of the KKR family.

“Jacques Kallis has been an integral part of the KKR family & will always remain so. We will be exploring ways of working with Jacques as we pursue our vision of establishing the Knight Rider brand as a global brand,” said Venky Mysore as quoted by the franchise’s official website.

Kallis also issued a statement on his decision, saying that he wanted to explore new opportunities. “After 9 fantastic years with KKR since 2011, as a player, mentor and Head Coach, it’s time to explore new opportunities. I would like to thank the Owners, Management and fellow players for many happy memories,” said the former Proteas star.

Jacques Kallis’ record as coach

Jacques Kallis coached the team for four years and could not lead them to their third title. However, his record as a coach was a decent one. In the first three seasons as coach, he helped the Knight Riders make it to the playoffs. However, this year the Knight Riders failed to do so and finished fifth in the table. There were also reports of some unrest among the players this season which might have promoted the franchise to rejig the backroom staff.