“Great man”: Phil Salt opens up about his relationship with KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 22 (ANI): England opener Philip Salt opened up about his “personal experience” of playing under Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Chandrakant Pandit during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

During IPL 2024, reports surfaced on social media about foreign players in the KKR camp being frustrated with Chandrakant’s militant style of functioning.

However, for Salt, it wasn’t the experience that he had under Chandrakant during his exploits with KKR in IPL 2024.

The 27-year-old lavished praise on Chandrakant for his remarkable coaching skills and revealed that he shares a “great relationship” with the KRK coach as well.

“That’s not my personal experience. I can say that you know we got on from day one. No, he’s a man that reads a room very well. He knows when to have an arm around you, knows when to pull your tail a bit. I think that’s now a trait that all good coaches have. You know, I’ve got a great relationship with him and still swap texts with him. You know, he watches a lot of cricket. He’s always in touch, so a great man,” Salt said during the CEAT Cricketing Rating Awards.

With his destructive approach from the opening front, Salt became a reliable figure for the Riders. He racked up 435 runs in 12 matches, averaging 39.55 while scoring runs effortlessly at a whopping strike rate of 182.01.

However, before KKR left their third IPL title, Salt was recalled by England for their series against Pakistan before the World Cup.

Salt left the KKR camp, and Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz was brought in as his replacement. The 27-year-old was left “disappointed” because he felt a job was left unfinished.

“I think if you put any work into a competition, especially the IPL. You want to play every game that’s what’s in you as a professional sportsman. I want to play the big games. I want to play all the high-pressure games and be in the high-pressure moments. That’s what it’s all about, you know. Obviously, I was disappointed to come so far and leave India feeling like I still had a job to do. But the boys picked up beautifully from where we left off and became deserving IPL champions,” Salt added.

Despite missing out on Salt’s services, KKR went on to lift the IPL title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.