The KKR team will be playing a practice match at the Eden Gardens today against a Mohun Bagan selection. The match will commence at 7pm

The team will be departing for Chennai tomorrow afternoon.

Wasim and Eoin Morgan have joined the team, Kallis, Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan will arrive this evening

Kolkata Knight Riders has formally announced that Gautam Gambhir will lead the team in the upcoming season of IPL in 2011.

Making the announcement, the KKR CEO & MD, Venky Mysore said, "We are delighted that Gautam Gambhir will be leading our team. He is a thorough professional and his performance and leadership qualities speak for themselves.”

Skipper Gautam Gambhir, at his appointment said, "it's a pleasure and an honor to lead the KKR team. I believe that the KKR management has put together a terrific team. I am looking forward to the season and feel very optimistic."

Along with Gambhir, seven members of the KKR squad are currently playing in the World Cup: Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kaillis, Brett Lee, Brad Haddin, Ryan ten Doeschate, Shakib al Hasan and Eoin Morgan.

KKR wishes all their players the best of luck in the tournament.

Following a successful IPL auction in Bangalore last week, the Kolkata Knight Riders have signed three local Bengal players—Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Shreevats Goswami and Mohammad Shami Ahmed on Friday.

While former Bengal captain Shukla is a veteran with Kolkata Knight Riders, having played all three seasons, Shreevats and Mohammad Shami are the new, promising recruits who will wear purple and gold this April.

Shreevats, a native of Kolkata, began playing at the age of 11 and has represented his state, Bengal, and the country at an U-19 level. He played a critical role as opener and wicket keeper when India won the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. Although he made his IPL debut with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he said it is only “fitting to play for my home city, Kolkata.” Mohammad Shami, a young and promising medium-pacer, made his Ranji debut for Bengal against Assam in November last year and also represented Bengal in the T20 this year.

Kolkata Knight Riders' CEO and Managing Director, Venky Mysore, said: “We are delighted that in addition to Manoj Tiwary, who we picked in the auction, we have signed three very promising players from West Bengal. This is in line with KKR's on going commitment to providing a platform for talented players from its catchment area. Our coach Dav Whatmore has been assisting CAB and working with the U-19 team, with a view to developing the local talent. We will continue to identify and nurture talent from the region.”

Having identified and recruited four players so far, Kolkata Knight Riders remains eager to continue scouting and assisting talent in the region. Dav Whatmore, who has worked extensively with many young Bengal players, recognizes the future potential in many rookies, who he is hopeful, will play cricket for India one day.

The Kolkata Knight Riders look forward to a successful season with the immense support they have received so far from their fans, sponsors, and the City of Joy.

The Kolkata Knight Riders today announced the appointment of Venky Mysore, as CEO & Managing Director. As MD he will take full responsibility for the operations of the franchise and become a member of the board.

Venky Mysore comes with over 25 years experience in the financial services industry across several global markets. He has held several senior leadership positions in the US, Canada and Asia. Most recently he has been the India Country Head of Sun Life Financial, Canada.

Announcing Venky Mysore's appointment, Mr. Shah Rukh Khan said "I feel that the time has come to take the KKR franchise to the next level and work towards globalizing the sport and the professionalizing the franchise. The experience and skill sets that Venky brings will help us work towards our vision for building a world class franchise"

Mr. Jay Mehta added "in addition to his professional experience, Venky brings his passion for cricket and has also played University cricket during his college days".

On assuming this position, Venky Mysore said, "I am thrilled to have this opportunity of working with the entire KKR organization, which has demonstrated the passion for the game, strong commitment to the sports loving community and a desire to professionalize the franchise. This is a very exciting opportunity for me and I look forward to building on the foundation that has been laid."

The Kolkata Knight Riders’ hard hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle joined the team on March 18th. The team left for Ahmedabad on Thursday for their next match against the Rajasthan Royals, who have made the city of Ahmedabad their temporary home. Gayle joined the team directly in Ahmedabad. His availability means that the team has more strength in its batting department. Gayle also bowls off break which makes him an additional 5th bowling option.

The Knights who currently stand third on the points tally will look to make amends for their poor batting performance in their last match against the Chennai Super Kings. Gayle’s inclusion means that if he opens the batting with Manoj Tiwary, then the Knights and their fans could well get the huge starts from the two hard hitters.

KKR have changed their brand colours to purple and gold for IPL 2010. With this the brand and the team seeks to mark a new direction. KKR sticks to its brand promise of aiming to play entertaining cricket and being a team which seeks to connect with its fans. With its new colours, KKR seeks to bring fresh impetus to a long and exciting season ahead.

The decision to appoint a new coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders has been a much anticipated and speculated announcement. The KKR management held several meetings over the past few weeks to discuss and plan the way forward for the franchise and the team. After weeks of careful deliberation, keeping in mind the vision and ideals of the team, the KKR management has appointed Dav Whatmore as the new team coach. Instrumental to this decision was Sourav Ganguly, whose experience and knowledge were key factors in the entire vision and decision-making process for the season ahead.

Dav will be supported in his new role by Vijay Dahiya as Assistant Coach and Wasim Akram as mentor. Andrew Leipus and Adrian le Roux have been appointed Physiotherapist and Team Trainer respectively. In addition, Sourav Ganguly is back at the helm as Captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders and will have continued input in the decision-making process and selection for the 2010 season. "KKR is looking forward to an exciting and successful season ahead with the new appointments and strategies in place. I am excited at the prospect of working with Dav and the entire team closely in addition to playing at our home ground once again," commented Sourav.

The KKR Management also maintain that Sourav’s position as captain is not merely ceremonial; he will be the key driving force helping to create and shape the cricket team ahead of the next season and will be responsible for all cricket related decisions with regards to the 2010 season.

When asked about the decision, The Management was very clear on their unanimous choice: "Dav has the right vision not only for the team, but for each of the players, and for the franchise as a whole. He is very aware of our current position in IPL and knows that there is only one way to go now–up" commented Jay Mehta, co-owner of KKR.

Dav Whatmore was responsible for leading the Sri Lankan team to victory at the 1996 World Cup and also coached the Bangladesh team to their first Test Victory in 2005. In addition, he served as the Director of Cricket Operations at National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for the past two years. "I am optimistic about the season ahead and have the utmost faith in Sourav, the team, and KKR Management and look forward to a successful tournament. I will be working closely with the team to continue building KKR into a successful franchise both on and off field," commented Dav on his new appointment.

The Management firmly believes in and supports Dav’s plans for KKR in IPL Season III. With seasoned professionals like Dav, Vijay, Wasim, Andrew, Adrian and Dada collaborating together, KKR believes that it can rekindle the winning spirit of "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo" to retain the trust and love of their fans, supporters, and sponsors, reinforcing KKR as the successful sporting franchise that it started out as.

For any media queries, please contact Shivani Khatau on +91 22 66365309

The decision to appoint a new coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders has been a much anticipated and speculated announcement. The KKR management held several meetings over the past few weeks to discuss and plan the way forward for the franchise and the team. After weeks of careful deliberation, keeping in mind the vision and ideals of the team, the KKR management has appointed Dav Whatmore as the new team coach. Instrumental to this decision was Sourav Ganguly, whose experience and knowledge were key factors in the entire vision and decision-making process for the season ahead.

Dav will be supported in his new role by Vijay Dahiya as Assistant Coach and Wasim Akram as mentor. Andrew Leipus and Adrian le Roux have been appointed Physiotherapist and Team Trainer respectively. In addition, Sourav Ganguly is back at the helm as Captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders and will have continued input in the decision-making process and selection for the 2010 season. "KKR is looking forward to an exciting and successful season ahead with the new appointments and strategies in place. I am excited at the prospect of working with Dav and the entire team closely in addition to playing at our home ground once again," commented Sourav.

The KKR Management also maintain that Sourav’s position as captain is not merely ceremonial; he will be the key driving force helping to create and shape the cricket team ahead of the next season and will be responsible for all cricket related decisions with regards to the 2010 season.

When asked about the decision, The Management was very clear on their unanimous choice: "Dav has the right vision not only for the team, but for each of the players, and for the franchise as a whole. He is very aware of our current position in IPL and knows that there is only one way to go now–up" commented Jay Mehta, co-owner of KKR.

Dav Whatmore was responsible for leading the Sri Lankan team to victory at the 1996 World Cup and also coached the Bangladesh team to their first Test Victory in 2005. In addition, he served as the Director of Cricket Operations at National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for the past two years. "I am optimistic about the season ahead and have the utmost faith in Sourav, the team, and KKR Management and look forward to a successful tournament. I will be working closely with the team to continue building KKR into a successful franchise both on and off field," commented Dav on his new appointment.

The Management firmly believes in and supports Dav’s plans for KKR in IPL Season III. With seasoned professionals like Dav, Vijay, Wasim, Andrew, Adrian and Dada collaborating together, KKR believes that it can rekindle the winning spirit of "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo" to retain the trust and love of their fans, supporters, and sponsors, reinforcing KKR as the successful sporting franchise that it started out as.

For any media queries, please contact Shivani Khatau on +91 22 66365309

While the 2009 IPL season was an exciting and successful event, the Kolkata Knight Riders regretfully did not achieve what was required of them during the tournament, failing to fulfill both their own and their fans’ expectations.

The Knight Riders management and owners have reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the team with all parties involved and are proactively looking for a new approach to ensure Knight Riders are well prepared for the 2010 season of IPL and beyond. As a part of this exercise, Knight Riders have consulted with John Buchanan to discuss a new approach. John, however, feels that his vision and direction for the team that he wishes to take are no longer aligned to those of the owners and franchise management, and as such he has decided to return to his coaching and corporate consulting work through his company, Buchanan Success Coaching.

"John Buchanan has informed Knight Riders that despite his hard work over the past two seasons, he has not achieved everything that he set out to and has not been able take the franchise into the future as per his vision for this team. We have amicably agreed that Knight Riders will release him from his contract with immediate effect." Said Jay Mehta, co-owner Kolkata Knight Riders.

"I would like to state that John is a great coach. He had a vision for Knight Riders and did not waver from this vision. Unfortunately, it has not brought the results that are so necessary to this franchise."

"Knight Riders would like to wish him every success in his future wherever that may take him", concluded Jay Mehta.

"Obviously, I am very disappointed in not being able to continue with the Knight Riders and complete the work I started some 18 months. I think we have the makings of a very good IPL franchise, and the foundations are there for 2010. I would like to thank everyone who supported me at Knight Riders, and I wish the team every success in 2010", said John Buchanan.