On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ franchise announced that Shane Watson, the former Australian all-rounder has been assigned as the assistant coach for 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
A Brilliant Career Across All Formats
Watson himself enjoyed a brilliant career playing for Australia, having represented them in 59 Tests, 190 ODIs, and 58 T20Is. During this time, he scored more than 10,000 runs and took more than 280 wickets in these formats. Watson was one of the key members of Australia's squads that won the ICC World Cup in 2007 and 2015, and fully showed his all-around skills and ability to change a match.
AN IPL LEGEND TURNED COACH
Watson created a memorable legacy in the IPL, having played from 2008 to 2020 for a total of 12 years, appearing in 145 IPL games and scoring four centuries. Watson played major roles for the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings when they won the title, cementing his status as one of the best players from overseas to play in the IPL.
Watson, who is now 44 years old, has moved into coaching and mentoring roles since retiring, and both experienced and inexperienced players benefited from Watson's learning and tactics in various top T20 leagues across the world.
WATSON EXCITED TO JOIN KKR
Watson expressed great excitement when he said, “It’s a great honour to be part of a franchise as iconic as KKR. I have always appreciated the passion of the fans and relentless consistency of the team. I am looking forward to working closely with the coaching staff and players to try to help bring another title back to Kolkata.”
KKR’s WARM WELCOME
KKR CEO, Venky Mysore, expressed his excitement with Watson joining the franchise saying, “We are excited that Shane Watson will join the KKR family as his wealth of experience in both playing and coaching at the highest level will inevitably add significant value to our team culture and preparation.”
