"Always good to have a boss like Shah Rukh" - KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo shares his bond with Knight Riders family ahead of IPL 2025
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor Dwayne Bravo opened up about his bond with franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan as he embraces the coaching role across all teams within the Knight Riders framework across the globe. The former all-rounder was an integral figure with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the first overseas acquisition by an IPL franchise ownership group.
After a successful working relationship in the CPL, where Trinbago won four titles, Bravo's bond with the Knight Riders strengthened with an association in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. The ace Caribbean was sought as Gautam Gambhir's replacement, when the latter vacated the role to sign as Team India's head coach after the 2024 season.
Bravo left his role as bowling coach with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to take on the role. He expressed his gratitude towards Shah Rukh Khan for showing initiative to invest in his hometown franchise in the Caribbean.
"It's always good to have a boss like Shah Rukh who has really invested in the game. My first thing started off with the Trinbago Knight Riders when he bought the team. I was the happiest person on the planet to know that someone like him had shown that interest to a buy a team not only in the Caribbean, but my home town," Bravo said during a press conference ahead of IPL 2025.
Before Shah Rukh Khan's acquisition in 2015, the Trinbago Knight Riders bore the name Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
Dwayne Bravo is slowly building an impressive coaching resume after his impactful work within the support staff of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Afghanistan men's cricket team.
"The advantage that we are going to get is the confidence level" - KKR head coach on Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy's recent performances for Team India
KKR made it a point to retain as much of their core as possible after winning the 2024 title. The defending champions used all six retention slots to keep a hold of their key players, which included Varun Chakaravarthy and Harshit Rana. The mystery spinner was retained for INR 12 crore, while the young pacer was included as an uncapped player for INR 4 crore.
"Both of them have been doing so well, not only in the Champions Trophy, they have done well for KKR as well last two seasons. They have been key players for us. The advantage that we are going to get is the confidence level that they are going to carry from the international level," KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit said.
Both Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy were part of Team India's winning squad in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The duo were among the wickets, with the in-form spinner ending as the joint-highest wicket-taker for India, and second-highest overall in the campaign.