In a candid look at KKR’s performances over the last 2 seasons, Shah Rukh Khan, the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, admitted to having regrets over the performance over the last 2 years and asserted the desire to win next season. “This season the attempt has been there. Let's forget everything. I want to win IPL to prove to myself that I can win. If I take on something, I will deliver," Shah Rukh asserted.

The statement was first carried in the Times of India. Read the full article here.

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.

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The KKR management held a meeting today in Mumbai in order to regroup, discuss and plan the way forward for the franchise and the team. In order to maintain the spirit with which KKR started, the management feels the need to get back to the drawing board.

Kolkata Knight Riders regretfully did not achieve what was required of them during IPL 2009, the franchise and team are deeply saddened by the teams dismal performance and for failing to fulfill both their own and their fans’ expectations. The management intends to proactively decide on an approach which will rekindle their winning spirit and which will retain the trust and love of their, fans as well as offer a fruitful association for all its wonderful and loyal sponsors.

The management has taken a two month break in order to be able to think and plan without taking any untoward or hasty decisions that might have been made as a result of the team’s standing at the end of IPL 2009. Going forward, KKR management intends to meet often, so that setbacks, mistakes and learning’s can be discussed during these meetings in order to chalk out a clearer and more positive strategy for the way forward.

The management has not yet taken a decision on the appointment of a new coach as this meeting was their first in a series of meetings. Once the coach has been appointed, the management will then select the best combination of players to form a competitive team for IPL 2010. Once this team has been decided, a Captain will be announced for the next season.

As always, Dada will continue to play a major role within the franchise and specifically in putting forth a plan of action for the team to follow, and will contribute to making KKR the successful sporting franchise that it started out as.

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.

Buchanan said, “As Kolkata Knight Riders it is good to be here for the tournament and we have appointed McCullum as our team captain, which we are very happy about.”

He announced that McCullum has full support of the team, including the Knight Rider’s more senior members, such as Sourav Ganguly, Brad Hodge, Chris Gayle and Matthew Mott.

“We look forward to the tournament and are aiming, realistically, for a place in the semifinals.”

McCullum said, “This is hugely exciting. We have trained hard, we have high expectations of ourselves, and we hope to deliver.”

Gearing up for the second season of the Twenty-20 cricket extravaganza, the Indian Premier League (IPL), Coca-Cola India andKolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have today announced their partnership where Coca-Cola India will join forces with Kolkata Knight Riders as an "Associate Sponsor and the Official Pouring Partner" of KKR. The company will get branding rights for Sprite on players' apparel (leading arm) as well as on the helmet. As part of the association, Sprite, India's largest-selling clear-lime sparkling beverage,will be designated the official beverage of the team. Additionally, Sprite would have instadia presence and activation rights for all 7 home-matches at Eden Gardens, India's most loved cricketing venue. To further add to the excitement, select Sprite consumers will get an opportunity to interact with the Kolkata Knight Riders team members through a number of innovative activations which will be launched in the near future.

According to Venkatesh Kini, VP-Marketing, Coca-Cola India, "Twenty20 Cricket is clearly a growingpassionwith today's youth. The success of IPL, 2008 has taken the game to a new high. It provides Coca-Cola India with a very exciting platform to connect with all its consumers. We are happy to bat with Kolkata Knight Riders as an associate sponsor and pouring partner. Our entire association with KKR has been conceptualized in an exciting and engaging manner, in keeping withboth KKR and brand Sprite's positioning, 'Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas... Clear Hai!'."

Sprite is the largest brand in West Bengal and the KKR partnership will further help entrench the brand amongst consumers not only in West Bengal but across India.An extensive 360-degree communication program will be rolled outto excite and engage with Sprite consumers and KKR fans. The initiative will leverage mass-mediaand digital platforms as well asin-stadia and inmarket activation.

“From the time of its inception last year,Kolkata Knight Riders has far exceeded the expectation of competitors and compatriots in terms of our fan following and the success of our brand and business. With Sprite now on board as Associate Sponsor and Official Pouring Partner, I am confident we will together provide more enhanced experiences to our fans and consumers, making the second season of IPL 2009 all the more action-packed and exciting.”Says Jay
Mehta, Co-Owner,Kolkata Knight Riders

More about Brand Sprite

Brand Sprite, since its launch in India in 1999, is the country's largest-selling sparkling beverage brand in the clear lemon-lime segment. Over the years, Sprite as a brand has become synonymous with a no-nonsense, honest and cut-through attitude. The latest 2009 summer campaign of Sprite is based on the theme of 'weeding out pretence, and cutting to the chase' and having a cut-through perspective of life best captured by the tagline, 'Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas, Clear Hai?!'.

About Coca-Cola India

Coca-Cola India refreshes millions of consumers throughout the country with an exciting range of beverages including Sprite, Thums Up, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Limca, Fanta, Maaza, Minute Maid, Georgia and Kinley through a network of more than a million outlets. The company has invested over US$ 1 billion in its Indian operations, emerging as one of the country's top international investors. In addition, the company's business operations in India engage approximately 150,000 persons.

About Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders is a unique collaboration between the business of entertainment and the business of sport, it is one of eight teams participating in the Indian Premier League and was created in 2008 as a joint venture between Shahrukh Khan, Jai Mehta and Juhi Chawla. With IPL 2008 being a thrillingfirstseason Kolkata Knight Riders brand far exceeded expectations and established themselves as the "people's team". Kolkata Knight Riders is focused on the upcoming season and has many plans in place for both the team and the fans.

Over the past year the Kolkata Knight Riders have focused on their cricket development programme, which works on identifying local talent and developing current talent through a series of camps which focus not only on cricketing ability but also physical fitness, mental preparation and training. The camps also serve as preparation for some of KKR's more seasoned players ahead of IPL 2009. In extending last year's partnership, team sponsor, Nokia and KKR further strengthen their association for 2009 with Nokia supporting KKR's cricket development programme.

Ensuing the success of the camps sponsored by Nokia, KKR have announced that Shoaib Sheikh, Sunny Singh, Arindam Ghosh and Sourav Sarkar will be joining the KKR squad for IPL 2009. These players will join KKR's full strength squad in the lead up to IPL 2009.

Commenting on the camp and the shortlisted players, John Buchanan, Director, Cricket Operations for KKR stated, "The crux of our development programme lies in identifying young talent and providing them with a platform to showcase their skills. These players were assessed on cricket skills and technique as well as fitness through a series of physical screenings, fitness testing and game scenarios. We are happy to be adding to the wealth of talent currently within the KKR team. We are actively preparing for IPL 2009 and plan to leave no stone unturned to ensure we deliver the best possible performance this season."

Commenting on their association with KKR, D. Shivakumar, VP and Managing Director, Nokia India said, "At Nokia we are constantly driving new and innovative initiatives that help the Indian youth 'connect to their passions'. The KKR Camp sponsored by us was a platform for bright young talent across the country to get an opportunity to connect to their passion - cricket, while at the same time reinforcing our commitment to the Knight Riders team. We believe our association with Knight Riders is long term and today, we are delighted to partner with the Knight Riders again for the coming season. We look forward to an exciting tournament ahead"

KKR fans can look forward to a great season of cricket during IPL 2009 and Eden Gardens will bear witness to some great action leading up to the commencement of IPL 2009!

Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo!

FINAL SQUAD LIST

• Brendon McCullum
• Chris Gayle
• Ricky Ponting
• David Hussey
• Mashrafe Mortaza
• Moises Henriques
• Angelo Matthews
• Ajantha Mendis
• Charl Langeveldt
• Brad Hodge
• Sourav Ganguly
• Ajit Agarkar
• Murali Kartik
• Ishant Sharma
• Akash Chopra
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Yashpal Singh
• Iqbal Abdullah
• Laxmi Ratan Shukla
• Wriddhiman Saha
• Ashoke Dinda
• Debabrata Das
• Mohnish Parmar
• Anureet Singh