Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) appointed former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson as director of cricket operations on Friday.
While Simon Katich of Australia has been named the new head coach of the team. RCB said that Hessen will be responsible for the overall cricketing operations of the team in his new capacity. This includes policy, strategy, programs, talent search and performance management associated with the team. It also involves using best practices for all aspects of cricket.
Former Australia batsman Katich will try to bring a ‘high performance culture’ to the team in the new role of head coach. RCB chief Sanjeev Churiwala said, “RCB aims to be the most reliable, respected and best performing T20 franchise. Therefore, it is our constant endeavor to implement a culture of excellent and high performance for every member of the team. To fulfill this ambition we are pleased to announce the appointments of Mike Hesson and Simon Katich”
With these appointments, RCB ended the contract with Gary Kirsten, the coach and mentor of the team in previous seasons, as well as bowling consultant Ashish Nehra. Hesson was among the candidates selected by the BCCI to interview for the head coach recently. He, however, lagged behind current coach Ravi Shastri in this race.
Hessen has previously been the head coach of Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, while Katich played assistant coach with Kolkata Knight Riders.