Mumbai, Feb 22 (IANS) Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) said that nine players comprising their Indian continent have begun preparing for IPL 2025 through a week-long training camp, which will run till February 28 in Mumbai. The franchise won its third IPL title in 2024 after beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final in Chennai. KKR’s ongoing training camp in Mumbai will feature Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia, Mayank Markande, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. The training camp is being overseen by head coach Chandrakant Pandit, with the focus points being specialised strength and conditioning sessions, skill training in the nets, match simulation exercises, and team bonding activities. “The players who are not currently involved in domestic cricket are available and have joined us for this short pre-season camp. This is a normal routine for us every season. We will also have a camp in Kolkata from March 12 onwards, where we will have the international players available post the ICC Champions Trophy.” “Our real preparation will start when the whole squad assembles, but this camp will help us get into a rhythm. We have our core group intact which gives us confidence, and I am sure that with the players we have brought in (at the auction), our combinations will be very strong like last season,” said Pandit in a franchise statement on Saturday. Apart from Pandit, bowling coach Bharat Arun, spin bowling coach Carl Crowe, strength & conditioning coach Sagar V. and head physio Prasanth Panchada are present at the training camp. “We’ve got lots of nets, lots of match simulation planned for the next few days. So, it’s an opportunity for most of the group to get back together.” “It’s good to see a lot of known guys here, but also a few new faces. It’s important to keep the squad fresh. Obviously, we had a very successful year last year, but you have to keep thinking about ways to get forward. Everyone is really excited for the whole tournament,” added Crowe. KKR will begin their IPL 2025 campaign with the season-opening game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, coming exactly a month later on March 22. The franchise is yet to announce its captain for the 2025 IPL season, after letting go of their 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, who is now the skipper of Punjab Kings. –IANS nr/bsk/
