Rohan Gavaskar, Eklakh Ahmed join Kolkata Knight Riders

Gavaskar batted for some time facing the bowling machine, as the KKR players started their preparation for the third edition of the high-profile Indian Premier League next year under the watchful eyes of their new Aussie coach Dav Whatmore.

"It's certainly great that I am now a part of KKR after joining the Bengal Ranji Trophy squad. Twenty20 suits my style as I have scored good amount of runs in the ICL as well," Gavaskar said after the day's practice that saw Whatmore lay stress on basics of  batting and bowling.

On Whatmore, the left-hander said: "The association with someone so successful like Dav Whatmore should benefit me. Dav has certainly had loads of success as a coach, especially during his stint with the Sri Lankan team".

KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly spent some time at the camp before leaving a little after noon. Yashpal Singh, Kerala pacer Mohammad Niyaz, Prashant Parameswar, Ganpathy Vignesh and spinner Mohnish Parmar were among those who slogged at the nets alongside Bengal cricketers Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ashok Dinda, off-spinner Saurashish Lahiri, Debabrata Das and others.