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IPL franchise Mumbai Indians has promoted their head coach Mahela Jayawardene as franchise's global head of performance to look after the proceedings of the three franchises, which the group owns across countries. A day after the decision was made public, fresh reports have claimed that former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher is likely to be appointed as the successor of Jayawardene with Mumbai Indians.
Earlier, Boucher was speculated to join SA20 franchise, MI Cape Town as the head coach, but the reports were proved wrong with the appointment of Simon Katich. MI group on Tuesday confirmed the promotion of former Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene and ex-Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan as franchise's global head of performance and global head of cricket development respectively.
In a statement, the group which includes the franchises owned by the Reliance Group stated that the team management recognized the need for a central team at the helm of affairs because of the company's expansions to ensure 'consistency on ethos, values and learning, that have made MI one of the most loved cricket brands across the globe.'
With Jayawardane's elevation to the larger affairs of the franchise, the position of the Mumbai Indians head coach stands vacant and ESPNcricinfo has reported that Mark Boucher might be the candidate franchise ropes in. The speculations got more backing when Boucher revealed that he will be stepping down as their head coach after the end of South Africa's campaign at the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
Speaking of Boucher's experience as the coach of the T20 franchises, he was a wicket-keeping coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2016 and had also played for Knight Riders as well as Royal Challengers Bangalore. Later, he moved to take charge as the head coach at Titans in the South African domestic circuit followed by a lead role with the South Africa men's national team.