Former champions Rajasthan Royals on Sunday announced they parted ways with head coach Andrew McDonald in the lead up to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. The decision comes as they roped in former India fielding coach Trevor Penny as their lead assistant coach.
Trevor Penny will work closely with the newly-appointed Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara who came on board before the IPL 2021 Auction.
Rajasthan Royals have made it clear that the ‘decision maker’ in the restructured coaching set-up will be Kumar Sangakkara. Meanwhile, Amol Mazumdar, who worked as the batting coach last year, has been assigned the role of ‘out-of-season High-Performance Batting coach’.
“Trevor Penny will work closely with Royals’ Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, captain Sanju Samson and the leadership team comprising the coaching staff: spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahatule, fast bowling coach Rob aseell, and fielding coach Dishant Yagnik alongside international senior players like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. Zubin Bharucha will be an integral part of this team in the role of Strategy, Development and Performance Director, feeding into Sangakkara, the decision maker in the structure,” the Royals said.
Andrew McDonald headed into the IPL with an extremely impressive coaching profile but the former Australia cricketer was not able to replicate the success at the Royals. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, the Royals finished last in IPL 2020 in the UAE.
“Everyone at Rajasthan Royals would like to thank Andrew for his efforts towards the IPL season 13. He coached the team during an incredibly challenging COVID restricted period and we would like to wish him all the very best for his future endeavours with the Australian Men’s Cricket Team and the Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred”, Jake Lush McCrum, COO of Rajasthan Royals said.
Penney, a former Warwickshire player, has worked as the fielding coach of India, head coach of Sri Lanka and in various capacities with England. He has been a regular presence in the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League. In the IPL, he had worked with the likes of Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Speaking about the appointment, Sangakkara said: “It’s fantastic to have Trevor Penney on board here at Rajasthan Royals. He’s very experienced and understands the game very well which I am sure will help contribute to the players’ and squad’s overall growth. I’m confident Trevor’s appointment is going to set us on the right pathway and it will be wonderful to have him work with our squad.”
Rajasthan Royals have gone for a major overhaul ahead of IPL 2021 as they appointed Sanju Samson as the captain after releasing Steve Smith before the auction. The Royals spent big money on Chris Morris and also made some smart moves for Shivam Dube, Mustafizur Rahman and Chetan Sakariya.
