KKR has hired retired West Indian pace bowler Ottis Gibson as the assistant coach for IPL 2025, along with Dwayne Bravo, Chandrakant Pandit and Bharat Arun.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed former West Indian pacer Ottis Gibson as assistant coach in preparation for the 2025 IPL. Gibson is part of a robust support staff that includes fellow countryman and team mentor Dwayne Bravo, head coach Chandrakant Pandit, bowling coach Bharat Arun and others.

Gibson possesses a solid coaching credential after playing for the West Indies for four years. Internationally, he has also been bowling coach for England twice over. He has also been head coach of the West Indies (2010–14) and South Africa (2017–19), taking the former to the first T20 World Cup victory in 2012. Apart from guiding a number of T20 franchises, he has also had brief stints working with Bangladesh and Yorkshire County team.

This is another switch in KKR's engine room after their IPL 2025 title triumph. The side then lost their mentor Gautam Gambhir, batting coach Abhishek Nayar and support staff Ryan ten Doeschate to the Indian men's side, while skipper Shreyas Iyer was dismissed after the franchise was unable to come to terms with him prior to the IPL 2025 season.

KKR has been bringing about the changes gradually and not suddenly. Bravo was appointed as their new mentor in September last year, while on Monday it was announced that Ajinkya Rahane would become the manager, with Venkatesh Iyer being his deputy.

"We are delighted to have the presence of a player like Ajinkya Rahane who has experience and maturity as a leader. Also, Venkatesh Iyer is a franchise player for KKR and possesses many leadership traits. We are hopeful that they will complement each other well as we start the process of defending our title," KKR CEO Venky Mysore stated on the appointment.

"It is a privilege to be invited to captain KKR, which has been one of the most successful teams in the IPL. I believe we have an outstanding and well-balanced team. I am looking forward to joining everyone and accepting the challenge of defending our title," Rahane further added.