Picture Credit: CSA
Five-time IPL Champions Mumbai Indians have announced former South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher as their Head Coach for IPL 2023. Boucher has had an illustrious career as a wicket-keeper, and batter for the Proteas where he holds the record for the most Test dismissals by any keeper.
After his retirement, Boucher coached Titans, a team from the South African top-flight T20 league and led them to five domestic titles. In 2019, he was also appointed as the Cricket South Africa head coach where he registered 11 Test wins, 12 in ODIs and 23 T20I victories.
Reacting to his new role, Mark Boucher expressed honour and excitement about working with the Mumbai Indians. He said, βIt is an honour and privilege to be appointed as Head Coach 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. I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results. Itβs a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit.β
Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocom, Akash Ambani also wished the best of luck to Boucher for his new role as he said, βItβs 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.β
The Protean keeper will be replacing Sri Lankan stalwart Mahela Jayawardene as he has taken up a broader role as the teamβs global head of performance at Mumbai Indians. In his new role, Jayawardene will supervise the coaching and scouting at all three teams - Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI Emirates in the ILT20, and MI Cape Town in the SA20.