Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Details about Mumbai Indians coaching & personnel changes | Mahela Jayawardene promoted to global head of performance
Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has been promoted as the franchise’s global head of performance. The former Sri Lankan skipper will now be in charge of the scouting and coaching for the franchise’s three sides, i.e. MI in the IPL, MI Emirates in the ILT20 and MI Cape Town in SA20. Former MI Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan will now be the global head of cricket development for the aforementioned three teams.
Jayawardene had taken over the role of the MI head coach back in 2017. The franchise won three IPL titles under his watch and the management will soon announce his replacement. The think-tank has elevated Jayawardene and Zaheer’s roles in order to have a central team in-charge of affairs to fuel the company’s expansion.
As per the official statement, Jayawardene’s responsibilities include the overall strategic planning and the creation of an integrated global high-performance ecosystem. He will hold responsibility for the coaching and support structures of each team. The 45-year-old will work with the team head coaches to ensure synergies along with a consistent brand of cricket and the execution of the best practices set forward by the franchise.
Jayawardene has begun work in his new role and he was a part of the discussions that led to Mark Boucher’s recent resignation as the head coach of the South African setup. Boucher is set to take over the coaching duties of the MI Cape Town in SA20. In fact, Jayawardene was actively involved in finalizing five direct acquisitions made by the franchise so far. He will also be on the table with Boucher during the player auctions for the inaugural season of the tournament on 19th September.
On the other hand, Zaheer will be taking care of player development, building on the franchise’s ‘robust’ program regarding talent identification. They recognize these traits to be at the core of the franchise’s philosophy and success and are thus looking to replicate the same across different geographies.
“MI has been home for me as a player and as a coaching team member, and now as we embark on a new journey, I look ahead to working closely with all the stakeholders in the global network to unearth new potential that can join the family,” Zaheer was quoted in a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
Mumbai Indians coaching changes: SA20 and ILT20 to start early next year
Both the SA20 and ILT20 will be starting off early on next year. This ensured that there needed to be one person in charge of the coaching responsibilities globally. Jayawardene was deemed to be the best suited for this role given his extensive responsibilities as a player and coach in both international and franchise cricket.
“I’m happy to have Mahela and Zak as part of our global core team. Both have been an integral part of the MI family and embody the spirit of the cricket MI stands for. I’m confident that they would be able to ensure the same flows through all our teams globally and make a difference in the cricketing ecosystems across the globe,” Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani spoke about these recent developments.
