Former KKR allrounder David Wiese reveals KKR's dressing room atmosphere during their tough IPL campaign in 2023.
Kolkata Knight Riders had a poor outing in IPL 2023 as they finished seventh in the points table with just 6 wins in 14 matches. Their regular captain, Shryeas Iyer missed out the whole season due to injury and Nitish Rana led in his absence. KKR missed a playoffs spot for the second straight year after qualifying for the final in 2021.
Former KKR allrounder David Wiese recenlty disclosed team’s dressing room atmosphere during 2023 IPL. Wiese was signed for INR 1 crore by KKR, presumably as a back-up for the premier allrounder Andre Russell. He played 3 matches in IPL 2023, scoring 21 runs at a strike rate of 191.
While speaking on Hitman for Hire: A year in the life of a franchise cricketer podcast hosted by Sam Keir, David Wiese opened up about the dressing room scenes and coach Chandrakant Pandit’s method of coaching.
“There were certain issues going on behind the scenes in the team. Guys weren’t happy with certain things that were going on, and a lot of the times, it was a tough changing room. There was a new coach coming in and he liked to do things a certain way, and that didn’t sit well with the players,” Wiese said.
“Guys were frustrated because a lot changed, and the coach brought in things that he thought would bring success. But as an overseas player, they sometimes don’t sit well. He’s known in India as a fairly militant type of coach, a strict disciplinarian,” Wiese added.
The overseas guys who’ve played all over the world don’t need someone coming in and telling him how to behave and what to wear and what to do. I was chill with it, but there were players more stubborn than me,” the star Namibian allrounder revealed.
David Wiese also revealed the atmosphere of the dressing room and asserted that the result of the game didn’t matter as much for him as the tournament goes on.
“As the tournament goes on, you kind of sense whether you have a shot at qualifying or not. It’s not about whether you’re playing; it’s just about spending another couple of weeks away from family. For me personally, the result of the game didn’t matter that much, but I still got pulled into personal performances,” Wiese explained.
“As a player, you appreciate it when guys do well. Rinku Singh smacks five sixes – you can’t not appreciate that. It’s just that the result doesn’t have much emphasis anymore. You don’t sit there nervous about whether you’re going to win. And you start investing in the guys’ personal performances instead,” he added.
Also read: ‘He taught me sacrifices’ – Gautam Gambhir’s big words on current KKR star
Chandrakant Pandit has been largely successful in India’s domestic cricket, winning the Ranji Trophy title six times as a coach. He is often known as a strict disciplinarian in India’s domestic circuit. Pandit was appointed KKR’s head coach in 2022 but the team has not been able to qualify for playoffs under him so far.
KKR won its first match of IPL 2024 in a thrilling fashion by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 runs at Eden Gardens. They will now face Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 29 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
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