Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have strengthened their support staff ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 by appointing former Indian cricketer Dishant Yagnik as their new fielding coach. The franchise officially announced the decision on Wednesday and described his appointment as “an exciting new chapter” in his coaching career.
Yagnik's appointment comes with KKR going through a revamp after mixed performances in the last IPL. The three-time champions have formed a new and high-profile coaching unit under Abhishek Nair as head coach, with Dwayne Bravo named as mentor. Shane Watson has been appointed assistant coach, Tim Southee will oversee the bowling, Andre Russell will take over as power coach, and Chris Donaldson will handle strength and conditioning. Within this structure, Yagnik will be responsible for raising the fielding standards of KKR.
Yagnik served as RR's fielding coach from 2018 to 2025
Dishant enjoyed a long domestic career with Rajasthan, primarily as a wicketkeeper-batsman, from the 2002–03 season to 2017. He made his first-class debut in 2001–02 and was part of Rajasthan's historic Ranji Trophy-winning team in 2005–06. Yagnik also represented India at under-19 level and later played for Delhi Giants in the rebel Indian Cricket League between 2007 and 2009.
Yagnik entered the IPL with Rajasthan Royals and represented the franchise from 2011 to 2015, during which he played 25 matches. After retiring, he moved into coaching and became the fielding coach of Rajasthan Royals in 2018, a role he held until the franchise decided to overhaul its support staff after a disappointing IPL 2025 campaign, where RR finished ninth. Apart from IPL, Yagnik has also been active in domestic coaching. He recently served as the assistant coach for Jammu and Kashmir and was instrumental in taking the team to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season.
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