Mumbai Indians have appointed former South African head coach Mark Boucher as their head coach on Friday, September 16. The former cricketer, who is currently with the Proteas side, will end ties with the side after the T20 World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place in Australia next month.
Boucher takes over from former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, who has served as head coach of MI since 2017. The team management has elevated Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan to new roles as part of a central team – Global Head of Performance and Global Head of Cricket Development respectively. It comes as a bigger role after Mumbai Indians Emirates and Mumbai Indians Cape Town join the MI family.
Under Jayawardene, Mumbai Indians have won three titles. Mark Boucher has bigger shoes to fill after a poor campaign in the last edition of the IPL. Speaking in a press release, Boucher said:
“It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as Head Coach of MI. Their history and achievements as a franchise clearly put them up there as one of the most successful sporting franchises in all of world sport.”
Presenting आपले नवीन Head Coach – 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 💙
Paltan, drop a 🙌 to welcome the 🇿🇦 legend to our #OneFamily 👏#DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians @markb46 @OfficialCSA pic.twitter.com/S6zarGJmNM
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 16, 2022
“I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results. It’s a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit,” he added.
Mark Boucher will contribute in a very positive way to Mumbai Indians – Mahela Jayawardene
"He's an exciting coach & thinks differently." 🧠
Mahela shares his views on the appointment of Mark Boucher 🤝#OneFamily #DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians @MahelaJay @markb46 MI TV pic.twitter.com/N6V848Ycmp
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 16, 2022
Mark Boucher doesn’t have extensive experience as a coach on the T20 franchise circuit, Boucher had a run as wicketkeeping coach at Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2016 IPL. After that he moved to take charge as head coach at Titans on the South African domestic circuit before moving to the lead role at the South Africa men’s national team.
Departing head coach Mahela Jayawardene feels Boucher is the right man to take over the role and carry the legacy forward.
“The way he [Boucher] has transformed South African white-ball cricket in the last two years, he’s been brilliant, and he is also someone that we felt thinks differently and will contribute in a very positive way to Mumbai Indians,” Jayawardene said in a video released by Mumbai Indians on Twitter.
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