New Delhi:
Royal Challengers Bangalore have made sweeping changes to their support staff as they gear up for a 'better performance' in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. Gary Kirsten, who was the head coach of the Virat Kohli-led side and Ashish Nehra, the bowling coach of the franchise, has been replaced by Simon Katich and Mike Hesson. While Katich will be the coach of the side, Hesson has been appointed as the director of cricket operations for the side.
Under Kirsten, Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a terrible start in IPL 2019 as they lost their first six games. Although they bounced back in style for the latter half of the tournament, they could only manage a last-place finish as they continued to under-perform in the Indian Premier League. In the 2018 edition, the first in which Nehra and Kirsten were in charge, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished sixth.
The chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sanjeev Churiwala, had stressed on the team performing better for the 2020 edition of the tournament. "Our constant endeavour is to create a culture of excellence and high performance for every member of the team. 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. As a result of this restructuring exercise, we will be moving to a single coach model," Churiwala said in a media release.
Hesson, who helped New Zealand reach the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time during the 2015 edition, was part of the Kings XI Punjab franchise for just one year. Katich, on the other hand, had a good stint as the assistant coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise. Katich has been replaced by Brendon McCullum as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2020 edition.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have reached the final of the IPL three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but they have lost all three times to Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Royal Challengers Bangalore have finished at the bottom in two out of the last three editions of the Indian Premier League.
