Cape Town - The Mumbai Indians are hoping their new coach Mark Boucher will "take forward its legacy."
Boucher, who announced his resignation from the Proteas on Monday after the 2-1 Test series defeat to England, was unveiled by the Mumbai Indians as the franchise's new Indian Premier League coach for next season on Friday morning.
The 45-year-old will first oversee the Proteas’ upcoming white-ball tour to India and next month's T20 World Cup in Australia, before joining up with the five-times IPL champions.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Mark Boucher to Mumbai Indians. With his proven expertise on the field and off it as a coach guiding his team to numerous victories, Mark will add immense value to MI and take forward its legacy," Akash. M. Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm, said in a statement.
The former Proteas record-breaking wicket-keeper succeeds Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene, who has been elevated to the franchise's global head of performance. Jayawardene will oversee the coaching and scouting at all the three teams the franchise owners now have - Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI Emirates in the ILT20, and MI Cape Town in the SA20.
It was initially understood that Boucher would take over the MI Cape Town team, but that role has now been handed to former Australian batter Simon Katich, who will be joined by Proteas great Hashim Amla as batting coach.
“It is an honor and privilege to be appointed as head doach 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," Boucher said in a statement.
"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.”
IOL Sport