Chandrakant Sitaram Pandit (born 30 September 1961) is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. He was a

Wicket Keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. T ...

Batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

for

Indian national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India in men's international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and is a List of International Cricket Cou ...

. He made his test debut against England at Headingley, Leeds on June 19, 1986, in the same match England wicket-keeper, Bruce French made his test debut. Eventually India won the series 2–0. His ODI debut was against New Zealand at Sharjah in the Austral-Asia Cup on April 10, 1986. He was part of India's World Cup squad for the 1987 World Cup. He replaced Dilip Vengsarkar in the semi-final match against England at his hometown, Mumbai, and scored a brisk 24(30); however, India lost that match.

Coach

After retirement, Pandit began a cricket academy at his ''alma mater,'' the

Hansraj Morarji Public School Hansraj Morarji Public School is a combined primary, junior and senior school in Mumbai, India. It was founded in 1939 by the Bai Kabibai and Hansraj Morarji Trust. The foundation stone was laid by Sardar Patel. The school was earlier an all-bo ...

. As a cricket coach, he enjoyed successful stints with several teams, including the

Mumbai cricket team The Mumbai cricket team is a cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. The team's primary home ground is the Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai. Secondary home venues include the MCA ground in Bandra Kurla Complex ...

. He coached

Vidarbha cricket team The Vidarbha cricket team is an Indian domestic cricket team plays in the India's domestic first-class cricket competition Ranji Trophy and limited-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It represents the Vidarbha region of eas ...

to two successive Ranji Trophy triumphs in 2018 and 2019. Under his coaching and tutelage, the

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

team won its very first Ranji Trophy in 2022. In 2022, Pandit was appointed as Head Coach for the IPL Franchise

Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a franchise cricket team representing the city of Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. The Knight Riders ...

Chairman

He was the Chairman of All India Junior Selection Committee for the year 2013 and was replaced by Connor Williams. Connor Williams

References

India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers Indian cricketers West Zone cricketers East Zone cricketers Madhya Pradesh cricketers Mumbai cricketers Assam cricketers Central Zone cricketers Cricketers at the 1987 Cricket World Cup 1961 births Living people Cricketers from Mumbai Indian cricket coaches Wicket-keepers {{India-cricket-bio-1960s-stub