The Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have appointed the former Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson as the Director of Cricket Operations while former Australia batsman Simon Katich has been named as the Head Coach for the upcoming season, the franchise confirmed on Friday.
The RCB team also announced that they have parted ways with Gary Kirsten and coach Ashish Nehra.
“RCB’s purpose is to be the most trusted, respected and best performing T20 Franchise and hence our constant endeavour is to create a culture of excellence and high performance for every member of the team. To deliver this ambition we are very happy to announce the appointment of Mike Hesson and Simon Katich. We believe that Mike’s extensive experience in building strong teams along with Simon’s powerful cricket experience will help us create a winning culture,” said Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“As a result of this restructuring exercise, we will be moving to a single coach model. Consequently, we would like to thank Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra for their contribution over the past two seasons. They leave us with a legacy of having given several young players the confidence to show their ability on the highest stage. Everyone at Royal Challengers Bangalore wishes them all the best in the future,” he added.
RCB once again had a dismal season last year with Kohli at the helm and finished bottom of the table in the IPL, while Hesson’s KXIP finished sixth. Katich who had been working with Kolkata Knight Riders also failed to make the playoffs as they finished fifth.
Hesson had quit the KXIP team earlier in the month as he had applied for the job of India coach, which eventually went to Ravi Shastri.
Katich’s association with KKR also ended earlier in the month when they appointed former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum as their head coach.
