The Sunrisers Hyderabad has announced that it signed West Indies legend Brian Lara as the team's batting coach and strategic advisor, Dale Steyn as its bowling coach, and Simon Katich as its assistant coach ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022.
The 52-year-old Trinidadian Lara had scored over 22,000 international runs and over 26,000 at first-class and List A levels. Tamesh Mohabir has welcomed the appointment, saying " This is a great lineup, especially the appointment of the Prince of Port of Spain Brian Charles Lara as batting coach! Batting (apart from Davey Warner) has always been our weakness, and now I am sure Brian Lara will help solve that problem".
Former Australian batter Katich, who had played 38 international matches across formats, replaced fellow former Australian wicket-keeper batter Brad Haddin. The appointment came only after a few months of Katich stepping away from his position as Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach ahead of the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE.
Meanwhile, Tom Moody replaced England’s 2019 World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss, who was in charge of the team over the last two seasons. The former Australian cricketer has had a successful stint with the Sunrisers in the past.
Additionally, the Sunrisers appointed former India international Hemang Badani as its fielding coach and scout. Meanwhile, veteran Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will continue as its spin bowling coach and strategist.
Coaching staff members
The Sunrisers Hyderabad's new full coaching staff is as follows:
- Head coach – Tom Moody
- Strategic Advisor and Batting Coach – Brian Lara
- Pace Bowling Coach – Dale Steyn
- Strategy and Spin Bowling Coach – Muttiah Muralitharan
- Assistant Coach – Simon Katich
- Fielding Coach and Scout – Hemang Badani
The new coaching staff members were announced in a statement released to social media.
"Introducing the new management/support staff of SRH for #IPL2022!" the Sunrisers captioned a video post.
"Orange Army, we are #ReadyToRise! 🧡
"@BrianLara #MuttiahMuralitharan @TomMoodyCricket @DaleSteyn62 #SimonKatich @hemangkbadani"
What precedes the appointments
The announcement came after a rather disappointing season in this year's rendition of the IPL where the team finished at the bottom of the table. The next season will be Lara's first assignment as a franchise’s batting coach. He has been a regular in the IPL commentary panel in the past few years.
Steyn was a formidable player in the IPL, playing for multiple teams in the past including the Sunrisers. He will also start a new assignment with the franchise. Steyn had spent five seasons playing for Hyderabad, two for Deccan Chargers, and three for Sunrisers. He picked 33 wickets at an average and economy rate of 29.85 and 6.90 in 37 IPL matches for the Sunrisers between 2013-2015
After a poor display last season, the team said goodbye to David Warner and several others. They retained only Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, and Umran Malik ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
In the 15th season of the IPL, the Sunrisers will also be without mentor VVS Laxman, who has now taken over the position of the National Cricket Academy director.
